Noise Pollution used to dumb us down...

We have gotten so used to noise pollution that most people take it as normal. But it is incredibly damaging. Some pollution we say we can't avoid but dont try to do anything about it.

I ended up 33 years ago living in what was an ideal place. My wife and I were very happy there but a year later neighbors started up a dirt - bike race track right across from our house. We tried everything we could to have them stopped after talking to them but they said, "it will continue" and it did for the 32 years we lived there. That was my worst nightmare. From 3:30 till 8:00 pm almost every day 3 or more dirt bikes polluted round and round nonstop.

Because they owned half the town/village no one dared speak up eventhough they hated the pollution. My wife and I did and told them ghow we felt about the noise. They said, "it will continue" and it did for 32years, two generations, and they had others ride as much as they wanted. You get the picture.

I happen to be very sensitive to noise. After 32 yrs when we retired we were able to move. Goes to show us that some people are so inconsiderate of others that they could not care less how others are affected by their self - centered attitude.

I started this post to discuss pollution of all kinds. It turned into a rant. Sorry!
besides water, air, food, mind, there's chemtrails, nano particles 5G etc. and most people are oblivious to them.

We are certainly in the worst time in our known history. By nature we humans are at present too gullable but we are fighting back thanks to PA, Alex Jones, Mike Adams
and David Icke and countless others. I believe we are winning against genocide.

Strangely enough I don't worry about big things and have always worried about small things. Probably better that way.

Tintin
I realized that I put my thread in the wrong place, "New Age." Please put it in an appropriate place.
Thanks

Quote:

---

Posted by East Sun

Tintin
I realized that I put my thread in the wrong place, "New Age." Please put it in an appropriate place.
Thanks

---

Hi East Sun
Moved the thread to "Climate and Environment" - which seems like a good match.

And I agree - noise pollution can definitely get out of control. Where we used to live, the boom-boom car noise used to drive me nuts at times!

By coincidence, I saw this article today, and thought of your thread, East Sun.

It always seemed totally "bass ackward" to me how the noisiest, most sleep-disturbing place ever is the hospital, which is supposedly the place we go to rest and heal.
Ha!

It's Loud and Clear: Unwanted Noise in Medical Facilities Is a Hazard
— The right soundscape can benefit patients and providers alike


Like a lot of people, I put off routine medical appointments during the first year of the pandemic. But then, medical experts voiced concerns that such delays could turn minor health issues into something major. I pushed aside my fear of COVID-19 exposure and scheduled a string of overdue exams, starting with a mammogram. There were nervous eyes on the faces of masked women in the waiting room. What made the experience especially irksome was the high-volume cooking program spewing from a television perched overhead. None of the patients were watching the show, but it was impossible to escape the sound. There was no television remote in the room and no way to mute the set. I happen to like cooking shows, but not in this setting. After so many quiet months at home, the noise was jarring. And there was no question that it increased the discomfort of the waiting room experience.

<snip>

The Tip of the Iceberg

It turns out that a waiting room TV is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unwanted sounds in medical settings. In healthcare facilities, noise is an ongoing problem. The elevated decibel levels in most hospitals affect both patients and staff, creating health hazards, says environmental psychologist Craig Zimring, PhD, an architecture professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who designs healthcare spaces.

"It's not just that noise is annoying," says Zimring, explaining that a sound-saturated medical center interferes with healing. He cites an example in intensive care units, where constant alarms may contribute to ICU delirium in critically ill patients. While, of course, alarms save lives, sometimes they go off for non-urgent reasons, scaring patients and their loved ones.

In the best of times, a loud racket can be disturbing. Now, as we try to recover from the worst of times, intrusive sounds are the last thing we need in our shell-shocked lives. On the other hand, listening to music or guided meditation through earbuds or headphones may help calm us before, say, a stressful medical visit.

Click here for full article

R. Murray Schafer: Listen

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOlxuXHWfHw

"A soundscape is any collection of sounds, almost like a painting is a collection of visual attractions," says composer R. Murray Schafer. "When you listen carefully to the soundscape it becomes quite miraculous." David New's portrait of the renowned composer becomes a lesson unto itself, gracing viewers (and listeners) with a singular moment of interactive subjectivity.

Directed by David New - 2009 | 6 min

Apropos your post, EastSun. This morning as I was sitting in a supermarket cafe having a cup of tea, I was aware just how loudly the in-store piped music was.
Naturally, it was a stream of Christmas-themed songs, but customers were having to raise their voices almost to shouting level just to converse.
And no-one is going to take any notice of one or maybe two people complaining.
"It's what the majority want" they will say...

Thanks norman

Now that I'm retired and soon to be an octagenarian I really appreciate what used to be
normal way back in the days of youth.
Listening to nature, birds, even crows, breeze in the trees and silence is the greatest thing.

It's easier to contemplate on my art - work reading and just thinking. If only it could have
been this way always.
Not for everyone I'm sure but definitely my kind of thing.

As a sound engineer I am grateful that this matter was finally posted. The ammount of noise pollution in cities is over the top, and not only the "unavoidable" kind, like cars, cooling/heating systems (specially) etc, but the media and music playing EVERYWHERE.

Gotta say before lockdowns it was worse, but still. I remember going out late night last winter, mid lockdowns, on a rather active town close to a highway. I could hear my friend's steps on the sidewalk two blocks from him. The silence was so eerie yet beautiful one can't help but imagine how would it have been living in the same place a few centuries ago, and realise how big of an effect the city "hum" has.

I personally live in a rather quiet place outside, but everytime I have to do important gigs or stuff in the city, I wear earplugs not to get tired before work. Traffic or trains are exausting.

Getting average/professional ones is a really great idea even for regular folk. They have been designed to change as little as possible the sound spectrum of what you hear. In other words, you'll hear the same frequency relation but at a lower level altogether. Alpine ones are around 20/30€ here, and a great idea not to feel too overwhelmed while being able to hear everything (and everyone)

La Chat,

Are we, most people, trying to "tune out" what the world has become and especially of late
striving to avoid, excessive - noise and a commercial enviroment everywhere.

I stopped watching TV over 25 years ago. Computers made it easier but Ii am very selective in
what I do on there. PA, definitely, Natural News and anything by David Icke.

And that's about it.

Sue (Ayt)

When I was in hospital I could not avoid the constant noise. My bed
happened to be next to two large doors that had a lot of traffic all the time
Even hospitals are not quiet and now not even safe so I would refuse to go
into a hospital now and rather take my chances at home.

Even though my life was saved by going to hospital many times over the years
I hope to never go into one again.

I feel sorry for Nurses and Drs. - the ones that are "real" if you know what I mean.
The whistleblowers are "beyond words" incredible.

We're living in a strange world that's getting stranger in every passing day.

I’ve been down the “rabbit hole” last couple of years recently with my ears and consequently my mind reacting to all that noise, hearing so many small and big sounds together plus old cold in my ear that I’ve resented to putting some medicine to it and cotton buds.

It helped me massively and fastly ( after months of suffering ) , I was since and almost immediately able to refocus within and basically focus again as when I was young, I still hear everything but not “twice” and with such intensity.

I suppose I have “thin membranes”.

My ears were sensitive ever since childhood so I better protect them from intrusions and big noice , I certainly don’t wish to be deaf ever but finding a peace of Mind and calm within is equally important,
if not more.


🦢

After suffering ghastly piped inane music in lifts and waiting on hold on the phone, I am going to lobby for something stimulating such as one of these uplifting Bach pieces….

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=s8QyVGu-dEA

Folk would rush off to do shopping or hang up!!!

I'm constantly reminded in almost every aspect of my existence that we have been
"screwed" by "them" all through our history in every way they could come up with.

It only took me my whole lifetime to figure it out, with a lot of help from the more
aware, intelligent people I was fortunate enough to meet.

Thank you, wherever you are!