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The Nation's Pulse
Too Loud, Too Old
The incessant noise of everyday life is damaging our health and our IQs.
Saturday morning I was rocketed out of bed by the usual wake-up screech of a car alarm. For a moment, I was poised to reach for my Louisville Slugger and do a “Rectifier” on the offending automobile (if you don’t get the reference, it’s from the Henry Bean film Noise). In my hysteria, I was under the delusion that I still possessed my Little League baseball bat.
Now, today I read that noise is a threat not only to my increasingly fragile mental state, but to my physical health, as well. And not just by damaging what’s left of my hearing.
According to a World Heath Organization report, noise, after air pollution, is the second leading environmental cause of ill health. Noise (from the Latin nausea) reportedly contributes to heart disease by “raising blood pressure and blood-borne concentrations of stress hormones and fatty materials. These accumulate over time to clog blood vessels and trigger a heart attack.”
Noise makes us dumber, too. The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once claimed the amount of noise anyone can tolerate undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to one’s mental capacity:
Noise is a torture to intellectual people. In the biographies of almost all great writers…I find complaints about it; in the case of Kant, for instance, Goethe, Lichtenberg, Jean Paul.
The only slightly less pessimistic Theodore Dalrymple agrees:
I fear the effect of constant noise on the development of human inwardness. I find it difficult to believe that those who live in constant noise can ever reflect very deeply upon anything. Their taste for noise, that becomes almost a physiological need for them since they grow anxious without it, seems to me to bespeak a fear of being left alone with their own thoughts.
The problem, as I see it, is noise is doing in the wrong people. It should be snuffing out those responsible for it — only that never happens. Like Frankenstein’s monster, noise goes about slaughtering everyone but its creator. And sadly you cannot eliminate noise via a bunch of villagers with torches and pitchforks, although sometimes a baseball bat works to wonderful effect.
LIVING IN THE CITY like I do, one is continuously assaulted by noise. And not just the rolling gun battles and the sirens that never sleep. My neighbors across the alley thoughtfully regale us with their ranchero music, while those across the street have introduced us to the sublime cadences of hip hop. Every night is like a ghetto battle of the bands. Just try calling the police in the nation’s most violent city to complain about loud music and see where that gets you.
But even that vile cacophony is not enough for some people, so my neighbors have adopted an assortment of pit bulls that bark idiotically 24/7. And thanks to the urban farm movement, roosters now give an added bit of color to the block. Why can’t these people live in the country like normal farmers? Or better yet, why can’t I live in the country?
But even that would be no guarantee of tranquility. Even in the supposedly peaceful suburbs there rumbles the incessant roar of lawnmowers big as combines. My favorite scene from Noise occurs when the Tim Robbins character, who has fled Gotham for the leafy suburbs, angrily confronts a neighbor over his raucous leafblower. “Did you ever hear of a rake?” he screams.
The neighbor punches him in eye. Deservedly, since he is, after all, Tim Robbins.
Small towns? Half of my life has been spent in various villages and hamlets. The myth that they are peaceful is just that. Small towns always seemed to have a biker bar across the street from wherever I happened to be living at the time. The odd thing was the bikers were mostly in their fifties and sixties, that time of life when people are supposed to become increasingly intolerant of noise. Instead, nearly all the elderly bikers had removed their mufflers and replaced them with Screaming Eagle straight pipes, which are literally noisier than a jet at take-off. Keeping my windows shut tight on pleasant spring evenings did nothing to alleviate my suffering, which was the noisemakers’ whole point.
What to do? The expectation that a swelling, graying population will refuse to tolerate excessive noise seems unlikely (based on my experience with the aged Harley riders). And we certainly do not need more legislation. More laws breed more lawyers and we need more lawyers like we need more taxes¾which also breed tax attorneys, come to think of it. Besides, the cops can’t enforce the laws already on the books.
When I was a teen the heavy metal headbanger motto was: “If it’s too loud, you’re too old!” Considering how many of today’s adults refuse to grow up, perhaps it’s no wonder nothing is considered too loud.
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (47) | Leave a comment
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PCPSmoker| 4.14.11 @ 6:27AM
Great read. Thank you for reminding me of the main reason for moving out of the big city. Particularly, the thumps of hip pop, the achordion sounds in ranchero, and the beep beep of remote car openers. Enough of that garbage.
mames| 4.14.11 @ 11:14AM
what a cry baby - buy some ear plugs or move out of the city. Did you get paid to write this little whiny piece?
Ken (Old Texican)| 4.14.11 @ 6:53AM
Christopher,
you are way too young to be a grumpy old man. heh.
Francis W. Porretto | 4.14.11 @ 1:18PM
You're never too young to be a grumpy old man...unless you're a woman.
Deborah D | 4.14.11 @ 6:59AM
Greeeeeen acres is the place to be...Farrrrm livin' is the life for me! Ava would be appalled! :)
Appleby| 4.14.11 @ 7:19AM
*Their taste for noise, that becomes almost a physiological need for them since they grow anxious without it, seems to me to bespeak a fear of being left alone with their own thoughts.*
Or a fear of discovering they have no thoughts, because they have nothing to think about.
As the weather grows more pleasant, the local teeenagers -- who have the biggest park in the GTA two blocks away -- gather beneath our apartment windows to scream at each other and ride their skateboards under the sign that says NO LOITERING, NO SKATEBOARDS, NO ROLLER BLADING. They literally scream, because they have both ears plugged with sound blasting away. Soon they will all be deaf, and the sound level will drop.
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 4.14.11 @ 7:25AM
"Every night is like a ghetto battle of the bands". Great line!! Now personally, I love noise, and can't stand it when it's quiet, maybe it's a New York thing, huh? I used to leave the window of my apartment wide open, which over looked the Cross Bronx Expressway (AKA I-95), and just listen to the drivers trying to kill each other, there's no better way to fall to sleep (IMHO).
Robert Pinkerton| 4.14.11 @ 7:45AM
Not only auditory noise. Some television addicts will go halfway toward meeting a guest's request for silence, by muting the set; however, the picture remains as a visual distraction and attention-hog.
Speaking as one who definitively broke a television addiction in my early twenties, forty+ years ago, I would like to suggest that if a television set does not need to be on, it needs to be off. If that makes me a curmudgeon, then so mote it be.
Matt| 4.14.11 @ 8:41AM
If you remember the story of Ellijah in the bible, 1 Kings, he was running from that crazy queen Jezabel. The Lord told him to come out of his cave and he would show Himself to him. First came a strong wind, but the Lord wasn't in the wind, then a violent earthquake, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake, then came the fire, but the Lord wasn't in it either. Finally the Lord whispers to Ellijah.
Sometimes I think we have so much noise in our lives, we can't here what God is wanting to tell us.
Matt| 4.14.11 @ 8:41AM
If you remember the story of Ellijah in the bible, 1 Kings, he was running from that crazy queen Jezabel. The Lord told him to come out of his cave and he would show Himself to him. First came a strong wind, but the Lord wasn't in the wind, then a violent earthquake, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake, then came the fire, but the Lord wasn't in it either. Finally the Lord whispers to Ellijah.
Sometimes I think we have so much noise in our lives, we can't here what God is wanting to tell us.
Truth is King| 4.14.11 @ 5:36PM
Good true story, and worth the double post!
The still, small voice in us needs to be heard.
Pelligrino| 4.15.11 @ 7:27AM
You are both correct: The noise is one more tool of Satan. Now, folks, nobody laugh or mock that notion. It's real. Just as the author put forth: People who cannot stand calm or silence (or inactivity) don't want to reflect, pause, ponder.
And therein lies the danger. The danger of Satan. He keeps people in the whirlwind, spinning, tumbling, careening toward eternal death.
There are many facets of modernity that are Satan's handiwork.
"Be still and know that I am God." Those that are still, find Him.
Margie| 4.15.11 @ 9:48PM
Hi Pelligrino,
A godly man I know said once that the wicked cannot stand to listen to classic music. I think he's right.
Occam's Tool| 5.12.11 @ 2:42PM
That remids me Margie, it's time for me to get to work. On goes the Pachelbel.
mejamom| 4.14.11 @ 8:46AM
In our rural neighborhood we had a new neighbor whose wife was the wage earner with an apartment in the city during the week. He had a loud motorcycle which he seemed to be proud of as he left and returned several times a day. Not only that, when he was working on his cycle or big truck in his driveway, he had music so loud we could almost feel the bass beat with the windows closed. My husband and 2 of the other neighbors paid him a polite visit and explained the problem.
He very rudely explained that since there was no noise ordinance he was free to do as he liked. By chance one of the men had followed him into town one day and noticed he had his radio playing extremely loud at the convenience store while pumping gas. The police were summoned and he was given a citation. Our neighbor took the opportunity to talk to the police officer. Our neighborhood is out of the town's district, but he told us to call our force, which we did the next time things got loud. Apparently there is a noise ordinance, but unless one breaks it, which doesn't usually happen, one wouldn't know. So, sometimes there are things one can do.
Harry the Horrible| 4.14.11 @ 8:50AM
Poor guy. He should try working where I do.
They have a constantly running "white noise generator."
Its such a relief to get out of that building.
Claypoole| 4.14.11 @ 9:10AM
The comment on motorcycles struck a nerve. We live in the country, on a hill above a moderately busy two-lane road. Just when the weather starts to warm up, when it's time to go back into the garden--one of my greatest pleasures--the cycles come roaring along. Especially on weekends, their noise is constant, morning to night. April to October, the damned roar sets our teeth on edge and destroys the peace we used to have in the warm days and nights after a long winter.
PolishKnight| 4.14.11 @ 11:11AM
There's a hilarious south park episode that makes fun of bikers...
Petronius| 4.14.11 @ 9:17AM
Get in the game Chris. Take up the bagpipes and practice a lot.
Warren| 4.14.11 @ 11:27AM
Well, even if you don't take up playing the pipes, setting a speaker outside the window and turning the volume up will work wonders. There's NOTHING that can overcome the sound of the pipes!
This has been my favorite weapon when I go to a campground and some drunk hillbilly thinks that everyone wants to hear "freebird" at 2 a.m.
JimH| 4.14.11 @ 3:14PM
Think that was a scene in Christmas Story
Petronius| 4.14.11 @ 4:18PM
There is the bombard: no bag or drones, just the chanter and a much thinner reed. If you can stand inside 50 yards of anybody playing one for over a minute you deserve every note over 110 db.
albert constantine, jr| 4.14.11 @ 8:58PM
On a warm day this week, while waiting at a traffic light with my window down, I was treated to the hip hop bass of a neighboring vehicle, until I recalled a CD I was carrying, and blasted the pipes from the Dropkick Murphys "Tessie". It quite successfully drowned out the offending tune, and hopefully illustrated a lesson in courtesy regarding the unrequested sharing of one's musical tastes.
somnolence| 4.14.11 @ 10:24PM
I did that with Count Basie one time and the offender in the car next to mine hollers out and says"Nobody wants to listen to that!" Works both ways.
PolishKnight| 4.14.11 @ 11:16AM
I'm sorry if I sound like a leftist worshipping Europe, but they really are more civilized in some respects. One is noise.
At a restaurant in the states, Americans tend to yell at each other across tables so when I walk in, the whole place sounds like a school auditorium with the teachers away. In Europe, people lean in to whisper to each other. Give a try folks. If you lean in, the other person hears you better than if you yell over the table AND you reduce the overall noise level.
Another tool in the battle against mouth breathers is reflection. If you try to communicate with them, they often ignore you. However, buy a leaf blower and then use it precisely when they start blasting their yard. They're used to hearing it when they use it and the neighborhood is quiet so their "boom box" dominates. But if you blast your own right next to them, for some strange reason, it's not as pleasant to their ears.
CalMark| 4.14.11 @ 11:41AM
Great article. Right on!
Don't forget the obnoxious clashing noises from headphones on "max" volume that are pretty much universal on buses and trains. The fine young citizens responsible also expect us to pay for treatment of their hearing loss.
This is part of the "broken windows" theory: if small disorder is not dealt with, larger disorder will inevitably follow. I often dream of the noise-makers being rousted by a big, brutal cop, but that kind (alas) is buddy-buddy with delinquents nowadays, limiting their aggressiveness to harmless (legal American, non-minority) citizens.
SugartownSuper| 4.14.11 @ 1:09PM
My Quaker relations quote William Penn: "Silence is to the soul as food is to the body." There is a lot of wisdom in that.
JimH| 4.14.11 @ 3:17PM
Sometimes it’s not the volume of the noise but the source. When my family moved from the city to a semi-rural area it took awhile to get used to the absence of car alarms, boom boxes and police sirens and listen to the crickets, cows and other critters instead.
lez sohbet | 4.14.11 @ 4:40PM
very nice blog admin
john dubose| 4.14.11 @ 5:36PM
Noise is a natural and mostly unavoidable part of increasing population density. If we want less, we must either 1. Kill a bunch of people ( want to volunteer to die ? ) or 2. Enact and enforce massive new nanny state rules.
There is a business opportunity here. Reactive electronic noise cancelation devices are possible.
They already exist in headphones. Make them big enough to quiet a room or a house and you may have something.
Appleby| 4.15.11 @ 7:27AM
Or improve the soundproofing between apartments. Everyone here lives in high-rises (the average single-family home costs around $500,000) and while there is a lot of shrieking about banning smoking in your $300,000 condo lest some baby 60 floors below might die -- or carrying hazelnut Starbucks coffee in the elevator lest someone with a nut allergy die, nobody seems to care about the guy practicing the piano 7 hours a day on the floor below or the 2:00 a.m. party animals across the hall. Soundproofing technology is out there. Lets use it.
Pelligrino| 4.15.11 @ 7:53AM
Ah, one more cottage industry where no cottage need be built.
Folks, I have lived in several European communities in fairly sizable towns. And I can tell you that their 10 p.m. quiet/noise ordinances were adhered to. Almost without exception. Violators were shunned by the rest of the community and would almost always be shamed/forced to leave. Those sticking to the rules included all the wide variety of ethnicities.
People, put your foot down. Get creative. Find the power box and flip switches 'off.' Just never give in or play nice to those who are so selfish.
One thing is for certain: No audiologists will EVER be out of work.
Truth is King| 4.14.11 @ 5:41PM
I do love blasting Mozart or Bach once in awhile.
And sometimes a little Stevie Ray Vaughn.
And especially Handel's Messiah at Christmas time, when it is a great excuse to do so.
NaturalBorn Texican| 4.14.11 @ 9:02PM
Great article!!! Well said.
My students definately have an abhorrence of quiet. Somehow it seems to frighten them. They have no thought process and cannot think deeply about anything. They only skim the surface of an issue.
They have no imagination. And they are only in middle school.
Begs the question - What kind of adults will they be and how will they manage in the coming world??????
I honestly don't know...........................
somnolence| 4.14.11 @ 10:20PM
There does need to be some sort of penalty or enforcement on what degree of audio decibels are allowable in public. Car stereo speakers audio bounce off the walls of our home everyday on this busy street in Evansville, IN, and just yesterday I walked down the block to the car wash to ask a young man to turn it down. It appears the authorities turn a blind eye to violations of the local noise ordinance. The speakers are invariably in the car trunk and retailers know the purchaser will blast them as loud as possible. Freedom? Yeah, mine too.
Jeff in CT| 4.15.11 @ 12:39AM
Guns, always the correct answer…
Slingshot| 4.15.11 @ 4:24AM
Why has nobody mentioned barking dogs? I live far out in the woods, where everybody is on two-acre or larger wooded lots, and it is very quiet except for dogs. You can't even see them, usually, but their hearing is amazing and they bark at anything and everything they hear, and some of them go on for hours, like machines. The owners are usually off at work and leave these dogs alone to guard their property, and all the mutts do is bark all day (why does a dog never get hoarse?). I'd love to shoot certain constant offenders, but that would only start wars with the neighbors. I'm beginning to think that a sleeping pill inserted into a piece of meat and tossed to these mongrels in the morning might result in some quiet days, as they sleep off the drugs. I just might try it.
Fed Up| 4.15.11 @ 7:42AM
I will once again have to take up a cause of a fairly newly arrived foreign couple to our community. They seem a nice pair, and the Mrs. is expecting a baby mid summer. Their concerns? Nobody should have to wake at 6 a.m. to droning backbeat noise (thump, thump, thump!) -- every weekday (and some Saturdays) morning.
The source? A NCAA coach now getting his players out on the gridiron to practice for morning workouts. What noise, you say? This idiot coach has placed massive (look like outdoor festival rock concert size) speakers all around the practice fields to "motivate" his players as they go through his 'well designed' fitness drills.
One, I'd love to slap his head with NCAA out-of-season violations and see him fined and imprisoned (recruting violations?). Two, the neighboring residents are nearly 1/3 a mile away. Their complaints are real; the noise is absurd. Three, what real student athletes require music motivation to do their disciplined? (ha, a real laugh) work? What, sport needs music?
Noise everywhere. Obnoxious.
I'm looking forward to kicking this coach and his AD's rears around. Well paid, knuckleheads handing university diplomas to borderline thugs and misdemeanor/budding felons.
Radioman777| 4.15.11 @ 5:53PM
"Rolling gun battles"? Really, this strikes me as hyperbole, unless you live in Baghdad, Kandahar or Tripoli. Even LA doesn't have "rolling gun battles".
Radioman777| 4.15.11 @ 5:55PM
Oh, I forgot, you might just live in Ciuadad Juarez... If so, cross the river to El Paso, which is much quieter.
Chris' Wife| 4.16.11 @ 12:40PM
So when I called 911 the other night to report the 17 shots up the street, it doesn't count because it isn't rolling enough?
Is the local newspaper headline "Rolling Gun Battles," about a tragedy across the river in Cahokia, "hyperbole" because it didn't involve military combat?
Dee See| 4.15.11 @ 10:42PM
----We have noticed, especially when trying to
go to sleep, incessant hissing buzzes and ringing ears. We learn they're from these new 'smart'
meters and the new sockets for those RED China
made flourecent light fixtures.
We already told you the bulbs are loaded with
mercury and run on mind control flicker rates.
They're also being forcibly mandated across
the US ---by UN decree. As ever think EUGENICS.
Note, those fixtures also read your bio-metrics
and can eavesdrop wirelessly. TRUE.
Brzezinski talked about plans to use 'wave technology' for the purposes of dumb down
and control long ago.
IN FACT flicker rates and micro waves can even
be used to harass and even kill you. TRUE
Personally, we're planning to rip them out
of our living space. We've already hurled the
tv's and radio after learning about similar features.
HUAC meets NUREMEBERG ---is coming.
Fed Up| 4.16.11 @ 4:39AM
Mr. Orlet, this is a good piece. It is a very serious issue.
Please revisit this and bring along some audiologists' statistics on the downward spiral of hearing loss at earlier and earlier ages.
And please include shopping places as violation zones. For example, gas stations. Why must I hear overly loud pop-40 garbage on the GoMart positioned outdoor speakers while putting 13 gallons into the tank, particularly when another customer at the station has his car windows open and is entertaining us with mega decibels 50cent, 2Pac, or some other ghetto jungle music.
Do I need the same top 40 garbage while I shops the aisles for milk, bread, eggs, cereals, and juice?
I can remember some big grocery chain executive some years back extolling playing Kenny G songs while women would be shopping. (hint: boosts sales)
Explore why we have music everywhere in the commercial zones: Restaurants (so you eat faster and order more), outdoor cafes, grocery stores, Target, the wide open spaces in malls, hotel lobbies, even elevators. Why?
It is like we are rats with white-coated scientists garing from above, manipulating our decisions. (buy, buy, buy!)
Creative Recreation | 8.10.11 @ 10:20PM
is good