According to our Chinese calendar, it IS the year of the PIG (and how appropriate is THAT in parts of Fort Wayne?), but it's also the year of the LOUD-ASS, believe it or not.
Just take a few minutes and think about ALL the unwanted sounds we're exposed to DAILY, that we need NOT be. Whether it's from train horns, gas-powered lawnmowers, car alarms, boomcars, aircraft, or street repair crews, we cannot seem to escape it. We have become one freaking LOUD society. We can't go anywhere without hearing SOME person's convo on a cellphone, right? I don't want to know what the hell your business is, so shut the phone off, shut your mouth and get on with LIFE, OK? And how many times have you seen the "ghetto doorbell" in action (honking constantly to get someone at a house to come the hell out)? Yet sound CAN be nice...like a waterfall...or a breeze rustling through leaves on a tree, or even the purring of your cat. Hell, it's been proven to be downright therapeutic!
Conversely, sound at HIGHER decibel levels (that would be 70Db and greater) can not only be injurous, but has been PROVEN to cause a multitude of problems with the human body from high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression, to the obvious hearing losses. And the effects are cumulative...our bodies just soak this crap up like a dry sponge.
Ever been to a Ted Nugent or a Van Halen concert with-OUT ear protection? Recall that ringing in your head for like 2-3 DAYS? There you are...temporary hearing impairment. Kinda like having your head under water for 72 hours, right? Now I'm not bashing on either group...they're damn good musicians. After my first concert, I wore ear plugs (of the shooting variety), and not only did I NOT suffer any hearing loss, but I could hear ALL the music perfectly. Imagine that. Damn good concerts, too!
In today's world, we're bombarded with ALL sorts of marketing ploys (and these sales juggernauts couldn't give a damn about you...just your MONEY) designed to SELL crap to the uninitiated. By that I mean sound systems that could rattle the Rockies...for your damn CAR no less. And let's face it, anything above say, 50 WATTS in an automobile is worthless. A lot of these "boomcars" have power outputs rivaling small-town radio stations! When added to road noises such as tire hum as well as interior conversations(if you can even HAVE one under those conditions), loud music just becomes so much cacophony. The fideltiy (clarity) suffers in a confined area such as the inside of a car. Yet these boomcar "enthusiasts" (...like to introduce them to 115 grains of MY enthusiasm) don't have the vaguest idea what REAL stereo fidelity is. To them, it's all about POWER, (volume and bass), and that translates to being just plain S-T-U-P-I-D. This leads to the intimidation factor....they "rule" by being louder than anything else in the area. And there is even a sort of endorphic "high" produced by long exposure to noise of this magnitude. Again...it's all documented. I don't make this crap up.
Loud noise and loud music has been PROVEN to also be an inhibitor to educational skills in children. When placed in different classrooms (one class near a rail system and one away from it), there were marked differences between those classes. In every case, the kids NEAREST the noise did significantly worse compared to their "quieter" counterparts. Noise is a contributing factor to road rage, domestic disputes (ever see a quiet couple calmy beat the piss out of one another? Neither have I), and of course, other forms of violent behavior. (thank you BET for all that gangsta-rap). That would explain a TON of "sins" in certain communities, would it not?
Loud noise also puts public safety at risk. When a priority vehicle (fire/police/ambulance) needs to get from A to B, how often do we hear horns honking (as well as the sirens) as they attempt to negotiate traffic? People can't hear them coming, and that places too many people in a bad situation REAL fast.
Loud noise is annoying, distracting, and harmful. What can be done?
Well, those specific venues don't have such a problem. Shooting ranges REQUIRE ear protection, same with airport personnel who work outside the buildings. The structures THEMSELVES are insulated well enough to dampen most external noise. Soldiers don adequate protection when in specified areas of excessive noise (tanks, flight decks, etc.) to lessen the damage. The military (and law-enforcement agencies) are using a system called LRAD...basically a sonic WEAPON for venues like crowd control that induces nausea and loss of balance...And the best part...it's DIRECTIONAL! Of course we all know Manuel Noriega got to hear some HARD (loud) rock, courtesy of the U.S. Army back in Panama (he still hates the group Judas Priest...LOL). So you see that sound can (and will) be used with marvelous results to gain compliance.
But what does the public have to combat this urban "interpersonal" din?
We have legislation...it's not the "best" way to deal with noise, but since the EPA closed down their noise-related division back in 1979 (told 'em it was a bad idea), all we can do is write to those that can enact laws to BAN (or mute to some degree) such noise-producing devices. If the politicos can do it for smokers and seatbelts, they can sure as hell do it for noisemakers. And that includes fireworks, mufflers (or the lack thereof), sound systems, aircraft...you name it. Even the lowly weedwhackers are no longer exempt from the arm of the law (as long as people get involved).
We (as individuals) can also be RESPECTFUL (damn, there's that freaking word again) of others around us, whatever age they might be. That would mean NOT laying on our horns when pulling up to someone's house, or NOT buying fireworks that sound like 10 pounds of C-4 going off, or turning down our music a few notches (ever hear of HEADPHONES?), or even getting an ELECTRIC lawn mower or weed-whacker ( just as long as you don't have an acre or more to mow that is...LOL). In cities where STRICT noise ordinances have not only been enacted, BUT enforced, the quality of life for all has improved, markedly. With a mandate to quell the noise we have to endure every day, you will see changes for the better all around you. You can't do away with noise...BUT, you CAN make it a lot more tolerable by "turning down the volume" a bit. Kids will learn faster and better, without all these do-nothing programs that waste taxpayer money. You will see less road rage, and even a (substantial) drop in crime.
It's not a "universal panacea" for society's ills....
...just a damn good remedy for what's currently ailing us.
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