Noise. Even the word is a bit annoying. Noise.
Noise can be a lot of things. But as defined — at least the noise to our ears — noise is a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance.
Noise is all around us. Those annoying things that break the peace and quiet, just when we might need the peace and quiet. But it isn’t only the things we hear. It is also the things we do. We constantly distract ourselves these days, with one thing or another. The app on the phone. The show on the TV. The email that leads to the endless trail of destructive scrolling on the computer, through the Instagrams and Facebooks. The YouTube videos showing us cute kittens over and over and over again. Noise, noise, and more noise.
But what about the sound of music? Or the happenstance of clang, clang, clang goes the trolley? The sound of your loved one’s voice? The little kitten, mewing?
There is good noise and bad noise, and it all depends on perspective. A loud race car might be terrible noise to many people. But to others, it is a wonderful sound of excitement and competition.
But no matter which noises or sounds we like or dislike, they might turn out to be detrimental to our amazing ears. Hearing Health Foundation reports that hearing loss is the second most prevalent health issue globally. They tell it like this, to put it in perspective. “The number of people with hearing loss is more than those living with Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Diabetes combined.”
Here is another thing. Psychology Today reported that the leading cause of hearing loss is not aging. Yep, you guessed it. Noise is the leading cause of hearing loss.
We measure sound levels in decibels, as you very well know. And frequencies are measured in hertz. Our good human ears perceive frequencies between 20 Hz — which is the lowest pitch — to 20 kHz — the highest pitch. All sounds below 20 Hz are called infrasounds. At the other end of things, all sounds above 20 kHz are known as ultrasounds.
Mole rats and elephants, for example, can hear the very low pitches that we can’t hear. Infrasounds. And then. Dogs, cats, dolphins, and bats, to name a few, can hear the ultrasounds.
Sounds at or below 70 decibels are considered safe for our ears. Turn down the volume, because any sound at or above 85 decibels is more likely to damage our hearing.
We can find out the decibel level of nearly anything by doing a quick Googly Googly search. But here are a few to give you an idea of the scope. Remember, 70 is our safe number. Or below.
Normal conversation, Air conditioner — 60
Washing machine, Dishwasher — 70
Motorcycle — 95
Standing beside or near sirens — 120
Jackhammer, Power Drill — 130
Handgun, Shotgun — 170
Here’s my good idea. We all carry phones these days, right? We just got used to keeping them with us all the time.
Well, let’s take this learned behavior to our ears. First of all, I need to take a sidebar. Ears are wonderful. They are magic in how they work. What with all the wavy designs making it easy peasy for sound to get to our little eardrums inside our heads. But let’s face it. Ears are kind of ugly. For sure, our heads would look weird without ears. Yet, they aren’t really our best feature. I’ve never heard any person say, “Oh my god. Did you see how cute his/her ears were?”
Anyway. Back to my big idea. Like phones in our hands, we all start wearing headphones on our ears. It is perfect. Think of the benefits.
1. Covers up unsightly ears.
2. Keeps those ears warm in the wintertime.
3. Cuts down on wax buildup.
4. Possesses the ability to turn on “noise canceling” at any time, including incessant harping from a spouse, long board meetings, and obnoxious any noisy body.
5. Available in many colors to match outfits or eyes.
6. Will play music or podcasts or anything, for your ears only.
7. Makes meditation a snap.
8. Filters out loud noises that cause damage and hearing loss.
No matter your noise or sound, lovely or horrible.
Go forth and be head-phoned.
You’ll thank me for it.
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“In every sound, the hidden silence sleeps.”
― Dejan Stojanovic, The Creator
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Song of myself
Now I will do nothing but listen,
To accrue what I hear into this song, to let sounds contribute toward it.
— Walt Whitman
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“When night falls, does it make a sound?”
― Marty Rubin
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The noises on and off, and all the way off.
