Is noise dangerous? We all know that the neighbor cleaning out that stuffed pipe at 11:30 p.m. is irritating… but dangerous?

Get the Facts:

Did you know that….

- Sustained noise over 85 decibels can cause hearing damage – the ear will recover after one time exposure, but long-term and/or on-going exposure will cause hearing loss
- Exposure to 90 decibels for over 8 hours causes hearing damage
- One time exposure of 140 decibels causes some “on the spot” hearing damage

Some ideas of decibel levels….
Near 0 – running your finger over a piece of paper
60 – normal conversation (conversation where your throat feels relaxed)
80 to 85 decibels – shouting (if you have to raise your voice to be heard over a sound, that sound is over 85 decibels – and so are you!)
90/95 decibels – a child screeching or screaming
110 decibels – a car horn
100 to 110 decibels – a ball kicked hard against a wall
120 decibels – loud music
140 decibels – firecrackers

Dr. Oz, Professor and Vice-Chairman of Surgery at Colombia University and Dr. Roisen, Professor of Medicine at SUNY Upstate in tell us in their book, “You – The Owners Manual” – “Your ability to hear also depends on the hairs in the cochlea (inner ear). If your hair cells die, you suffer hearing loss – most likely because of loud noises….”

Even noise pollution that doesn’t do lasting hearing damage it can cause other physical issues:

- Elevated or “bouncing” blood pressure – which can cause tiredness, irritability and disrupted sleep patterns
- Elevated adrenalin levels – Adrenalin is the “stress hormone” that is released in times of danger or stress. Ongoing raised sound levels can cause circulation problems, sleep and eating pattern disruption, muscle pain and more. It can lead to adrenal gland fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. This is not to mention that the underlying current of stress causes irritability and mood disorders. It can cause hyperactivity and wreaks havoc with our ability to cope and therefore reduces parenting ability, shalom bais and children’s ability to relate and learn normally. Each time you have an adrenalin release, it takes at least 20 minutes for the body to normalize…… Think of what is happening to you with stress producing sound over hours.

We are required to protect ourselves and our children from such negative influences to our health and community.
What is Pollution?

It is really a reflection of “bad middot” (bad character traits, poor manners) …… Pollution is exposure to a dangerous or irritating substance or stimuli THAT YOU CANNOT SCREEN OUT.  Noise becomes pollution when it is intrusive or disruptive in your private space. Neighbors and others that create noise levels that make it uncomfortable for you in your own home, your seat on the bus and so on – are polluting your environment. We may not be able to control cars, airplanes and other sound polluting factors, but we can control our contributions.  We can also stand up for our right to a healthy and calm environment.

Here’s some bad attitudes….

“Well, the neighbor is so picky about every little noise that I really can’t pay attention to her!”
First look at yourself and see if you are in fact in the clear. Are you needlessly causing another Jew, another Human Being, to suffer?

“What’s the problem? The kids are just having some fun.”
Children need to be trained to respect the privacy and rights of others. They need to learn how to behave under different circumstances and in different places. It may be appropriate to kick a ball against a solid wall in a playground or ball park – it is NOT under the windows of other people’s homes. Loud laughter may be fun running in a park, but it is not appropriate near someone else’s ear on a bus, walking in a residential area and so on.

“If my child is screaming, it’s not healthy for me to make them stop. They need to express themselves.”
You are responsible to teach a child to value calm and the rights of others as much as you are to teach them to appropriately express their feelings. They should be taught when and where loud behavior is appropriate. They need to learn valuable, socially acceptable ways of expressing their feelings, not “emotional littering”.

“I have a good solution…. I put in ear plugs while I am having my nap. “
Great for you, but what about the neighbors? What about training children and ourselves to respect quiet while others are sleeping?

“My downstairs neighbor complains every time we walk across the floor!”
Many buildings are constructed in a way that the sound travels down. Your neighbor could be living in a home that is like being on the inside of a drum. Think of teaching children (and yourself) not to run in the house, to wear soft soled shoes at home – and if there is still a problem – get area rugs to pad well-used areas.

Do you need “middot work”?

Do you actively train yourself and your children to respect others? Training ourselves to care about others comfort and convenience is key to your own self-development. You do not need to lay down and write Welcome on your chest, but it is important to realize where you are in the World and what effect you create on your environment. Take on to eradicate from you and your family’s thinking – mah echpat li? –What do I care?

Jewish tradition teaches that prayers are not answered from someone with gezel (stolen articles) in their hand. There are many types of gezel recognized – gezel sheinah – stealing someone’s sleep, gezel shalom bayis – stealing peace in someone’s home,  gezel briyut – stealing someone’s health and more. Not taking a pro-active personal position on noise control can place us in a bad spiritual position.

We also pray several times daily for a shachen tov – a good neighbor. We are also told that shachen tov hashuv m’ach rahok – a good neighbor is more important than a brother that is far away. How are you rating on the neighbor scale? Are you the good neighbor that people are praying for? Or, do people heave a sigh of relief when you leave home for a while or get off the bus?

Some ideas:

-Teach children to be sound sensitive.
Teach them to modulate their voices, to scream in danger or open play areas only. Teach them whispering games to feel the differences in tension in their bodies as their voice level changes. Notice the change in the tension in your throat and body when you actively work on speaking in a non-stressed voice.
Tip – if you want a person that is speaking too loudly to slow down, drop your own voice level.

- Value calm and relaxation.
Use calming music in your home, have “quiet time”, insist that people respect quiet after bed times, when people aren’t feeling well, when others are talking, etc.

- Tell the band to turn it down.
You now know what sitting next to the speakers at a wedding is doing to your ears…. Don’t be embarrassed to insist the band “turn it down”. Beware of exposing yourself, and particularly, young children to the over-zealous band. Make sure that a band at your events keeps it down – your guests will appreciate the ability to speak to one another without shouting in each other’s ears.

- Train your family not to do sound insensitive actions.
Some of these can include yelling up and down the stair well, loud talk in streets or areas that are under windows, allowing noisy games and toys in areas close to housing, allowing children to scream on public transport…. Look around and add your own. Learn and teach to talk quietly on stairs, in busses, in offices and so on. A calm well-modulated voice and behavior is a sign of refinement.

- Do not allow your children to play with noisy toys under people’s windows.
Think about what the sound of the plastic tricycle wheels, bouncing ball and more would sound like in your living room, because it is just that in your neighbor’s homes.

Stress is epidemic and from the above, you can see how badly noise pollution contributes. Let’s not be noise litterers!

We would love to hear your issues, creative solutions and what you recommend to be proactive on this serious health and spiritual issue.