Author Topic: Suburban Noise Pollution  (Read 14077 times)

effigy98

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #50 on: May 24, 2018, 05:37:25 PM »
HAHA, I have the same exact problem with my neighborhood. I hate it. I also hate the 100 cars that drive thru on the way home, to work, or just lost. I plan on moving once I hit my number and never again have to deal with constant engine noise everyday.

I use electric everything which is quiet, but almost every person in the neighborhood hires people to do their lawns.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 05:39:10 PM by effigy98 »

Primm

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #51 on: May 31, 2018, 05:45:42 PM »
I suspect that a large part of the problem just comes down to people not sleeping at the same times.

I usually have to get up at 6 am . . . which means that I'm in bed by 10 most nights.  Many people don't get up until 9 or 10, which means that they're up until midnight or 1.  I don't like it when they're making loud noise after I've gone to bed, and they don't like it when I'm making loud noise first thing in the morning.

It all works out when everyone remembers that other people have different sleeping schedules and acts accordingly.

Except for those of us who work night shifts.

I never find myself very compassionate about people who complain about noise during the day, when they're awake. I'd love it to be quiet enough for me to sleep too, but ain't gonna happen.

It's worse when it's deliberate though, like the delivery guy who banged on my house, right beside the "night duty nurse sleeping, please do not disturb" sign. On my bedroom window. Yelling "I know you're there, I can hear the air conditioner running!".

Seriously? I'd be calling the company and complaining about that behavior. For that matter, if its hot enough for me to turn on the a/c, I'm leaving it on. Idiot.

Seriously. And yes, I did. The a/c is on during the day when I'm sleeping regardless of the temperature (does help that I live in a subtropical area where the daytime temp rarely drops below 20C), purely for the white noise.

GuitarStv

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #52 on: May 31, 2018, 05:50:48 PM »
There are far less energy intensive ways to generate white noise than running an air conditioner all the time.

Primm

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #53 on: May 31, 2018, 07:20:20 PM »
There are. And I've probably tried most of them in my 30 year career.

But I've worked out what works for me. Sleeping during the day isn't easy, and if I have to burn a bit more coal in order for me to be human overnight at work and actually save lives (including not actively killing my co-workers), then that's what I'm going to do.

Johnez

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #54 on: June 01, 2018, 11:46:23 AM »
You'll get used to the noise. It seems everywhere I move has some sort of unique annoying noise (traffic, children, birds, dogs) and the longer you live there the more you'll be able to tune out the noise as background noise. The hardest for me was birds actually, ha. Pidgeons used to get into the crevices of our building and just go to town flapping and doing their thing every morning.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #55 on: June 01, 2018, 06:06:28 PM »
16 years in the same house, and my feelings haven't changed about the noises.  The best way to deal with it is to just mask them out with my own internal more pleasing sounds like music, TV, fan, filter, etc.  It's quiet in my house right now except for the central air, and I can hear birds chirping through the closed window, but that doesn't bother me.

BudgetSlasher

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #56 on: June 02, 2018, 07:16:19 PM »
You'll get used to the noise. It seems everywhere I move has some sort of unique annoying noise (traffic, children, birds, dogs) and the longer you live there the more you'll be able to tune out the noise as background noise. The hardest for me was birds actually, ha. Pidgeons used to get into the crevices of our building and just go to town flapping and doing their thing every morning.

I completely agree.

I actually adjust multiple time a year:

First, this time of year it is the birds; apparently I managed to sleep through a very frustrated tom-turkey yesterday so I think I have adapted.

Next, at the end of the summer and into fall when the leaf start to turn (before you can see it) and after they have fallen, I have to adjust to the perceived road noise (a short stretch of 45 MPH between two 55 MPH zones ~400 feet away).

Finally over winter I adjust to the cycling of the forced hot air system while sleeping.

I'm the kind of person that can be woken by a faucet on another floor dripping or the water softener recharging.

Anything out of the usual, like the neighbor's buddy with a 1970s Camero with straight-pipes starting at 12:30 AM, will jolt me.

smoghat

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #57 on: June 07, 2018, 06:35:44 AM »
You'll get used to the noise. It seems everywhere I move has some sort of unique annoying noise (traffic, children, birds, dogs) and the longer you live there the more you'll be able to tune out the noise as background noise. The hardest for me was birds actually, ha. Pidgeons used to get into the crevices of our building and just go to town flapping and doing their thing every morning.

Nope. Meanwhile I used to live in LA on Wiltshire Boulevard, the traffic never bothered me. Some noises are much more grating than others, particularly leaf blowers. Pidgins could be hell though.

I wonder if some of it isn’t Moustachian. Here I am, doing my own yard work with a manual, push reel mower, raking my leaves and I have to hear some neighbors landscapers three gas powered leaf blower going off. Neighbor is off to work at some godforsaken job in finance. Probably thinks he’s got it made.

I’m 50, enjoying my garden and making art, and sitting on over $6 million if you count the House.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #58 on: June 07, 2018, 03:30:35 PM »
it's noisy in the real country (i.e. agricultural areas).  There are the trucks, and the big trucks, and the tractors, and the combines, and the neighbour's cattle, and the coyotes at night, and the birds early in the morning, and the snow plow in winter, and . . . . . . . .

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #59 on: June 07, 2018, 05:19:15 PM »
it's noisy in the real country (i.e. agricultural areas).  There are the trucks, and the big trucks, and the tractors, and the combines, and the neighbour's cattle, and the coyotes at night, and the birds early in the morning, and the snow plow in winter, and . . . . . . . .

Hmmm, that doesn't match my real experience.  I lived in the real country surrounded by fields for quite a few years, and I still have close relatives living in such areas, and I continue to bike through those areas to escape dangerous city traffic.  I rarely heard/hear the cattle and other livestock that were around, never heard the coyotes, the birds chirping didn't bother me (still have in the city), snow plows were only after the occasional snowfall (still have in the city) and a complete non-issue.   The vast majority of the time, the only sound coming from those fields is the wind rustling through the crops, and the traffic was much lower than in the city.   I would sure prefer that quietness over my semi-quiet suburbian life, which is still better than many city areas.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #60 on: June 07, 2018, 05:51:00 PM »
it's noisy in the real country (i.e. agricultural areas).  There are the trucks, and the big trucks, and the tractors, and the combines, and the neighbour's cattle, and the coyotes at night, and the birds early in the morning, and the snow plow in winter, and . . . . . . . .

Hmmm, that doesn't match my real experience.  I lived in the real country surrounded by fields for quite a few years, and I still have close relatives living in such areas, and I continue to bike through those areas to escape dangerous city traffic.  I rarely heard/hear the cattle and other livestock that were around, never heard the coyotes, the birds chirping didn't bother me (still have in the city), snow plows were only after the occasional snowfall (still have in the city) and a complete non-issue.   The vast majority of the time, the only sound coming from those fields is the wind rustling through the crops, and the traffic was much lower than in the city.   I would sure prefer that quietness over my semi-quiet suburbian life, which is still better than many city areas.

Well, I find the birds and such not a noise issue but some do.   No-one bikes here, cars on 60 k/h roads do 80 or 90 and there are no paved shoulders.  And in the Great White North, one snowfall can mean multiple passes by municipal snow plows.  Of course that is a Good sound, since it means the roads will be clear.  But it is still a noise.

GuitarStv

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #61 on: June 08, 2018, 07:38:38 AM »
it's noisy in the real country (i.e. agricultural areas).  There are the trucks, and the big trucks, and the tractors, and the combines, and the neighbour's cattle, and the coyotes at night, and the birds early in the morning, and the snow plow in winter, and . . . . . . . .

Hmmm, that doesn't match my real experience.  I lived in the real country surrounded by fields for quite a few years, and I still have close relatives living in such areas, and I continue to bike through those areas to escape dangerous city traffic.  I rarely heard/hear the cattle and other livestock that were around, never heard the coyotes, the birds chirping didn't bother me (still have in the city), snow plows were only after the occasional snowfall (still have in the city) and a complete non-issue.   The vast majority of the time, the only sound coming from those fields is the wind rustling through the crops, and the traffic was much lower than in the city.   I would sure prefer that quietness over my semi-quiet suburbian life, which is still better than many city areas.

Well, I find the birds and such not a noise issue but some do.   No-one bikes here, cars on 60 k/h roads do 80 or 90 and there are no paved shoulders.  And in the Great White North, one snowfall can mean multiple passes by municipal snow plows.  Of course that is a Good sound, since it means the roads will be clear.  But it is still a noise.

My dad is a farmer near Perth, Ontario.  There are plenty of 60 kph roads with no shoulders where cars do 80 or 90, but I actually find cycling in the area much more peaceful and relaxing than around here in Toronto simply because the traffic volume is so much less.  I bring my bike every time we visit.

(Actually, speaking of no shoulders and higher speeds - highway 511 between Perth and Calabogie is one of the nicest bike rides I've ever done.  It's a truly gorgeous stretch of undulating hills, rocks, forested area, and streams and lakes, and I try to ride it whenever the opportunity arises.)

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #62 on: June 25, 2018, 09:02:14 PM »

Next door neighbor has a new condenser for his central air.  It makes a lot more racket than the old one.  I barely gave the old one a second thought, but I don't like being out around this new one.

El_Viajero

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #63 on: June 26, 2018, 03:34:34 PM »
I live in a townhouse. I hear my neighbors go up and down the stairs. I hear them open and close drawers. For awhile, this bothered me. Then I realized that the problem wasn't them – it was me. I needed to chill out. I've been the guy in the apartment who bothered his neighbors with his footsteps before. We've all been that guy at some point.

When I decided to just accept that I would hear my neighbors sometimes, the noise stopped bothering me. You need to just take a deep breath and realize it's something you can't change. Also: my townhouse was half the price of the detached homes in my area and suits my family just fine.

It sounds like you live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. If this is your biggest problem with your house, you ain't got problems.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #64 on: June 26, 2018, 03:38:35 PM »
I go cuckoo when there's sounds. I highly recommend the Bose over-the-ear noise-cancelling earphones. Super comfy, wireless, soft, light... Even without the noise-cancelling turned on, they cut so much noise. The neighbour's mowing company comes by to work a few feet from my patio door? I just pop those on and continue to relax :)    These have been life-changing for me.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #65 on: June 26, 2018, 08:06:23 PM »
It sounds like you live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. If this is your biggest problem with your house, you ain't got problems.

I'm not sure if you were responding to me, the OP, or who.  But my last post refers to a new problem that didn't enter my mind before.  The most annoying sounds are the outside sounds that I can hear inside the house, especially if I'm trying to sleep or if it's loud enough to be heard over the TV.  But I already mentioned that earlier in the thread, so that was just an update.  This thread is simply to discuss surburban noise pollution - it doesn't mean anyone is having a breakdown about it or to suggest it's anywhere near as bad as busy city areas.

El_Viajero

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #66 on: June 27, 2018, 06:46:08 AM »
I'm not sure if you were responding to me, the OP, or who.  But my last post refers to a new problem that didn't enter my mind before.  The most annoying sounds are the outside sounds that I can hear inside the house, especially if I'm trying to sleep or if it's loud enough to be heard over the TV.  But I already mentioned that earlier in the thread, so that was just an update.  This thread is simply to discuss surburban noise pollution - it doesn't mean anyone is having a breakdown about it or to suggest it's anywhere near as bad as busy city areas.

'Twas a response to the OP (primarily) and the general annoyance people feel about noises made by others in their vicinity (secondarily). There's some stuff we can't change, and that's ok. In the city, it's traffic and upstairs neighbors and people talking in the streets. In the suburbs, it's lawnmowers and leaf blowers. You just have to suck it up and accept it.

Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #67 on: June 27, 2018, 07:00:59 AM »

Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.

Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.

sokoloff

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #68 on: June 27, 2018, 10:03:19 AM »
Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.
Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oiy5RcDf40 (one swear word)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #69 on: June 27, 2018, 11:01:51 AM »
Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.
Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oiy5RcDf40 (one swear word)

Aah, screech owls.  Baby raccoons left by mama can scream pretty well, too.  And the coyote chorus.

El_Viajero

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #70 on: June 27, 2018, 12:04:08 PM »

Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.

Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.

Ha! This just further illustrates my point. You will always find some noises that annoy you no matter where you live.

Unless, that is, you just accept that the noises are there and decide not to let them annoy you.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #71 on: June 27, 2018, 05:38:20 PM »

Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.

Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.

Ha! This just further illustrates my point. You will always find some noises that annoy you no matter where you live.

Unless, that is, you just accept that the noises are there and decide not to let them annoy you.

Further???   Bird noises and other noises in the country were discussed earlier in the thread.  You should have read more than the OP.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #72 on: June 27, 2018, 05:44:51 PM »

Or move to a cabin in the middle of the woods.

Where the birds will wake you up at 4:30.

You said the birds weren't an issue for you earlier.  I normally am not bothered by bird noises in my suburb because I have my bedroom window closed and a fan running almost every summer morning.  But I happened to have my window open one morning earlier this week, and I woke up to birds chirping.  I don't know if that's what woke me because the morning light will do the same, but I definitely noticed this unusual morning sound.

I've lived in the country a couple times in my life for many years - it was definitely more peaceful than my fairly peaceful suburb.   My nearest neighbors were about 2/10th's of a mile away in one location, a little further in another location, and I don't remember hearing any of them.  I do miss that.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #73 on: June 27, 2018, 06:08:25 PM »
Oh the birds don't bother me. Neither do the huge tractors and combines going down my road.  They might bother the OP though.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #74 on: June 28, 2018, 02:44:37 AM »
In my previous house we lived on the edge of a forest. In spring, in the mating season, the birds would really go bananas at 3:30 in the morning. We used to sleep with the window on a small gap. But at times I have closed it, as I needed more sleep. The rest of the years hearing birds is nice.

But if related to the subject, birds are not (sub)urban noise. Birds are natural noise. Waterfalls can also be very noisy, but you can still sleep well in that noise.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2018, 02:55:57 AM by Linda_Norway »

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #75 on: June 28, 2018, 08:04:23 AM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?

dougules

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #76 on: July 03, 2018, 10:27:52 AM »
In my previous house we lived on the edge of a forest. In spring, in the mating season, the birds would really go bananas at 3:30 in the morning. We used to sleep with the window on a small gap. But at times I have closed it, as I needed more sleep. The rest of the years hearing birds is nice.

But if related to the subject, birds are not (sub)urban noise. Birds are natural noise. Waterfalls can also be very noisy, but you can still sleep well in that noise.

Birds are a good example of natural noises not always being better than artificial ones.  It's a real pain in the spring to be woken up by them.  There's even a famous French nursery rhyme about getting revenge on a bird waking you up in the morning.  Look up a translation of the words to "Alouette."

wenchsenior

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #77 on: July 03, 2018, 12:51:51 PM »
In my previous house we lived on the edge of a forest. In spring, in the mating season, the birds would really go bananas at 3:30 in the morning. We used to sleep with the window on a small gap. But at times I have closed it, as I needed more sleep. The rest of the years hearing birds is nice.

But if related to the subject, birds are not (sub)urban noise. Birds are natural noise. Waterfalls can also be very noisy, but you can still sleep well in that noise.

Birds are a good example of natural noises not always being better than artificial ones.  It's a real pain in the spring to be woken up by them.  There's even a famous French nursery rhyme about getting revenge on a bird waking you up in the morning.  Look up a translation of the words to "Alouette."

Try sleeping through Howler Monkeys doing their morning thing. Now that's some annoying natural noise.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #78 on: July 03, 2018, 02:55:29 PM »
In my previous house we lived on the edge of a forest. In spring, in the mating season, the birds would really go bananas at 3:30 in the morning. We used to sleep with the window on a small gap. But at times I have closed it, as I needed more sleep. The rest of the years hearing birds is nice.

But if related to the subject, birds are not (sub)urban noise. Birds are natural noise. Waterfalls can also be very noisy, but you can still sleep well in that noise.

Birds are a good example of natural noises not always being better than artificial ones.  It's a real pain in the spring to be woken up by them.  There's even a famous French nursery rhyme about getting revenge on a bird waking you up in the morning.  Look up a translation of the words to "Alouette."

Try sleeping through Howler Monkeys doing their morning thing. Now that's some annoying natural noise.

Nature is full of annoying noises.  I had a house where a woodpecker would pound on our metal TV aerial. At dawn.

Suburban noises so are easy to live with at times, in comparison.  ;-)

Linea_Norway

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #79 on: July 04, 2018, 01:00:04 AM »

Nature is full of annoying noises.  I had a house where a woodpecker would pound on our metal TV aerial. At dawn.

That is a sure sign of spring here in Norway, hearing woodpickers rattling on the metal plates on top of wooden electricity poles because they want to attract a female.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #80 on: July 04, 2018, 06:00:47 AM »

Nature is full of annoying noises.  I had a house where a woodpecker would pound on our metal TV aerial. At dawn.

That is a sure sign of spring here in Norway, hearing woodpickers rattling on the metal plates on top of wooden electricity poles because they want to attract a female.

Different continents, but male woodpeckers are the same all over - noisy showoffs.    ;-)

boy_bye

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #81 on: July 05, 2018, 10:34:51 AM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?

I use the headphones on airplanes and to drown out my annoying (former) neighbors. Rain, birds, even random city noise like cars passing don’t bother me though.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #82 on: July 05, 2018, 12:11:25 PM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?  I've tried a pair of closed headphones as well as IEMs at work when I used to share an office.  I would play music through them, and that would mask out most external sounds.  However, the music itself was also distracting, and I got annoyed with a pair of headphones on my head or IEMs in my ears after a while, so I usually didn't bother with them.  When I'm at home inside the house, simply having the windows closed and the TV on (or stereo) is enough to mask most outside sounds (not the neighbor's lawn mower).

Linea_Norway

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #83 on: July 06, 2018, 07:49:16 AM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?  I've tried a pair of closed headphones as well as IEMs at work when I used to share an office.  I would play music through them, and that would mask out most external sounds.  However, the music itself was also distracting, and I got annoyed with a pair of headphones on my head or IEMs in my ears after a while, so I usually didn't bother with them.  When I'm at home inside the house, simply having the windows closed and the TV on (or stereo) is enough to mask most outside sounds (not the neighbor's lawn mower).

At work we received some fancypants Sony headphones that can either play music from your phone or block out sound around you. This works pretty well, although it is annoying you need to be bluetooth connected to your phone to block out the sound. They sit comfortable as well. Luckily the boss paid, because they are pricey.

boy_bye

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #84 on: July 06, 2018, 09:42:15 AM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?  I've tried a pair of closed headphones as well as IEMs at work when I used to share an office.  I would play music through them, and that would mask out most external sounds.  However, the music itself was also distracting, and I got annoyed with a pair of headphones on my head or IEMs in my ears after a while, so I usually didn't bother with them.  When I'm at home inside the house, simply having the windows closed and the TV on (or stereo) is enough to mask most outside sounds (not the neighbor's lawn mower).

At work we received some fancypants Sony headphones that can either play music from your phone or block out sound around you. This works pretty well, although it is annoying you need to be bluetooth connected to your phone to block out the sound. They sit comfortable as well. Luckily the boss paid, because they are pricey.

Yes, my husband gave me his noise-cancelling earbuds and I often just wear them with the noise cancelling feature turned on, but nothing else playing. They use a cord to hook into the phone but you can also just wear them not attached to anything. One of my fave gifts ever, because I may be a semi-mustachian, but I still can't see paying $300 for a pair of earbuds.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #85 on: July 06, 2018, 10:12:12 AM »
I recently moved from a huge metropolitan spot in the US to the suburbs of New Jersey, and I'm very happy with this decision except for one major dilemma: My days are constantly disrupted by some dullard in my neighborhood that is running a leaf blower, piloting a zero turn mower, or finding some other way to care for their lawn in the loudest possible way.

I think you are screwed. In my neighborhood, there kind of is this unspoken rule not to cut the grass on the weekends before 9am or later. I typically do not start till 10am. The early mornings should be quiet. There have been a few instances when I had to leave the house early and passed a lawn crew working on someone's yard at 7am(!) and I was surprised. They are a ways down the street and I have never heard them, but if that was happening next to my house, I would probably strangle them with their trimmer. Everyone should be able to sleep in on the weekends.

But after 10ish, peeps should be able to do what they need to do. You'll get use to the noise. Besides, I would take the noise from cutting the lawns over city noise like sirens, helicopters, loud music, and all that other crap.

We start to mow our lawn at about 7 am, because we used a walk behind mower it takes my husband 2-hours and me at least 3 (most people in our area use riders, but not everyone).  By 10 am, it is 90+ degrees; there is no way I'd be doing that.  Pretty much everyone is done mowing by 9 am or 10 am, even the people with riding mowers.

The early morning hum of mowers or snow blowers is just part of suburban life.

My surburban noise issue is motorcycles, but thankfully my new neighborhood doesn't have nearly as many as the old one.

ChpBstrd

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #86 on: July 06, 2018, 11:17:04 AM »
1) This is like moving near train tracks. The first year is awful and from then on you'll hardly notice it. At some point in old age, the sound of leaf blowers will leave a nostalgic feeling of home.

2) Side gig! Offer to sweep for $10 / driveway. Use guilt about noise pollution in some way to market your services. Make it a prestige market so your neighbors talk like "Oh, Mr. Taylor, I see you are still removing lawn clippings yourself. Very well, but I pay a guy to sweep my driveway by hand. You might give my provider a try if you have the means."

3) Exactly how much would it add to the cost of a leaf blower or chainsaw to put a functional muffler on it? Why shouldn't a 40cc engine be at least as quiet as a 2000cc car engine? Would someone get on this problem and make themselves a few million dollars please?

4) The suburban obsession with lawns is ridiculous. Everyone works so hard to make a lawn that supposedly conveys this peaceful, green image but it takes a dozen pieces of power equipment running at any given time to maintain this look, thereby destroying the peace and making the neighborhood a sort of polluted industrial zone.

sokoloff

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #87 on: July 06, 2018, 11:43:17 AM »
3) Exactly how much would it add to the cost of a leaf blower or chainsaw to put a functional muffler on it? Why shouldn't a 40cc engine be at least as quiet as a 2000cc car engine? Would someone get on this problem and make themselves a few million dollars please?
The blower part of the apparatus is a significant source of the noise. It's why a leaf blower is perceived as (and is) louder than a same engine sized lawnmower. Sound waves are just alternating compression and expansion of air. Guess what a leaf blower is doing as an essential element of its operation?

Thought about differently: why are electric leaf blowers still so loud?

ChpBstrd

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #88 on: July 06, 2018, 12:18:33 PM »
3) Exactly how much would it add to the cost of a leaf blower or chainsaw to put a functional muffler on it? Why shouldn't a 40cc engine be at least as quiet as a 2000cc car engine? Would someone get on this problem and make themselves a few million dollars please?
The blower part of the apparatus is a significant source of the noise. It's why a leaf blower is perceived as (and is) louder than a same engine sized lawnmower. Sound waves are just alternating compression and expansion of air. Guess what a leaf blower is doing as an essential element of its operation?

Thought about differently: why are electric leaf blowers still so loud?

I agree the propeller is a significant source of the noise. But chainsaws with similar mufflers are similarly noisy, so some large percentage of the noise is from the muffler. As for the propeller noise, a larger propeller geared to run at much less than 5,000 RPMs would move the same amount of air but be a lot less noisy. Either way, a better product is possible than the current combination of minimal muffler with tiny direct-drive propeller.

GuitarStv

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #89 on: July 06, 2018, 12:22:02 PM »
3) Exactly how much would it add to the cost of a leaf blower or chainsaw to put a functional muffler on it? Why shouldn't a 40cc engine be at least as quiet as a 2000cc car engine? Would someone get on this problem and make themselves a few million dollars please?
The blower part of the apparatus is a significant source of the noise. It's why a leaf blower is perceived as (and is) louder than a same engine sized lawnmower. Sound waves are just alternating compression and expansion of air. Guess what a leaf blower is doing as an essential element of its operation?

Thought about differently: why are electric leaf blowers still so loud?

I agree the propeller is a significant source of the noise. But chainsaws with similar mufflers are similarly noisy, so some large percentage of the noise is from the muffler. As for the propeller noise, a larger propeller geared to run at much less than 5,000 RPMs would move the same amount of air but be a lot less noisy. Either way, a better product is possible than the current combination of minimal muffler with tiny direct-drive propeller.

We have the technology to create a better, quieter, cheaper, easier to use device that performs all the functions of a leaf blower.



The future is now.

FIRE@50

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #90 on: July 06, 2018, 12:25:01 PM »
Two words. Wooded lot.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #91 on: July 06, 2018, 12:36:59 PM »
Or plant flowers instead of grass and support the bees.

dcheesi

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #92 on: July 06, 2018, 12:55:55 PM »
Have to add that as much as people rant against HOAs, they can be useful in circumstances like this.  Our HOA has a time restriction on noise (think noisy parties, outdoor construction, loud landscaper tools, etc.) which people generally follow.  Makes our little close-in suburb fairly quiet.

On the other hand, having lived in a major city and visiting/vacationing in major cities, I could never understand how people could stand the constant high noise level.  NYC, The City That Never Sleeps, is a prime example.  I wake up groggy from lack of deep sleep, and my hosts who live there can't understand why I kept waking up - they'd ask me, what noise?  Seems like if you live someplace long enough you don't even hear it anymore, literally.
I grew up in a suburban neighborhood, but there were train tracks in an excavated gully behind the houses across the street. Every so often a train would come through, sometimes even whistling a bit. It wasn't like that scene in "Blues Brothers", but it was decently loud at times. Still, we were so used to it that it hardly even registered.

One Christmas we were all sitting in the living room chatting, when all of a sudden our visiting relatives started looking around in confusion; "What's that loud noise?" To which every single last one of us in the household replied "what noise?" :D

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #93 on: July 06, 2018, 02:18:52 PM »
1) This is like moving near train tracks. The first year is awful and from then on you'll hardly notice it.

You aren't the first person to mention this "get used to it," but I am just as easily annoyed by the train "rumble" and for it to wake me up sometimes as I was 16 years ago when I moved into this house which is within 1/2 mile of the tracks.  It's not the whistle that is the problem as I usually don't hear that unless a window is open, but that low frequency rumble which penetrates through everything.  Not all trains are equally annoying though - some I don't notice while others produce quite a rumble, so in net balance, it's tolerable just as it always has been been, and I don't normally notice it over music or the TV, and it's not nearly as bad as a gas engine lawn mower, which is guaranteed to wake me up every time if it's next door.

When I sometimes look at houses for sale, I always look how close the tracks are, as I prefer 1 mile at an absolute minimum, and I much prefer 2+ miles.   Of course, I still factor in the vicinity of busy streets, airports, number of near-by homes, etc.  Nothing is perfect, and I could FIRE here if I wasn't already looking to relocate to another city when I FIRE for other reasons.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2018, 02:20:52 PM by DreamFIRE »

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #94 on: July 06, 2018, 02:26:44 PM »
3) Exactly how much would it add to the cost of a leaf blower or chainsaw to put a functional muffler on it? Why shouldn't a 40cc engine be at least as quiet as a 2000cc car engine? Would someone get on this problem and make themselves a few million dollars please?
The blower part of the apparatus is a significant source of the noise. It's why a leaf blower is perceived as (and is) louder than a same engine sized lawnmower. Sound waves are just alternating compression and expansion of air. Guess what a leaf blower is doing as an essential element of its operation?

Thought about differently: why are electric leaf blowers still so loud?

I agree the propeller is a significant source of the noise. But chainsaws with similar mufflers are similarly noisy, so some large percentage of the noise is from the muffler. As for the propeller noise, a larger propeller geared to run at much less than 5,000 RPMs would move the same amount of air but be a lot less noisy. Either way, a better product is possible than the current combination of minimal muffler with tiny direct-drive propeller.

We have the technology to create a better, quieter, cheaper, easier to use device that performs all the functions of a leaf blower.



The future is now.

A leaf rake works better, and a broom on concrete.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #95 on: July 06, 2018, 08:28:40 PM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?

I'm not, no. I have them on no setting (just the covers themselves) or on the white noise setting (which I don't hear). I love silence, so while they have the option of music, I usually don't take it.

DreamFIRE

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #96 on: July 07, 2018, 12:44:01 PM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?

I'm not, no. I have them on no setting (just the covers themselves) or on the white noise setting (which I don't hear). I love silence, so while they have the option of music, I usually don't take it.

If you're not playing music, then...  How do they do on very low frequency rumble like a train?  How about a subwoofer that's booming?   Does it do well with the birds chirping?  A dog barking?   What about people talking in the office that you don't want to hear?  I've heard they only work well for more steady sounds, like an AC, fan, mower.

How could you not hear white noise?  It makes me think the setting isn't working if you can't hear it.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #97 on: July 07, 2018, 12:59:39 PM »
I can't tell you much more than I have, DreamFIRE. I encourage you to buy a pair from a place that offers 100% refund and try them out. Mine were expensive but have made my life wonderful -in coffee shops, at home, with a wide range of sounds (can't think of any it hasn't assisted with). If ambient sound is lower to begin with, I hear nothing. If it's louder (busy coffee shop), it reduces it. Off, on, and with music added all have different effects for me.

My favourite so far are the Bose QuietComfort35 (over the ear, pre Google Assistant era). I also have the Bose QuietControl 30 (in ear), which also worked wonderfully for me, but I find in-ear less comfy.

I encourage you to try some out, assess and see for yourself.

GuitarStv

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #98 on: July 07, 2018, 01:05:35 PM »
For my brain, all sound has the same effect -water, a fan, birds chirping, a lawnmower. I don’t know the experience of sleeping happily to natural sounds. No one else here use the headphones?
Are you playing music or something through the headphones?

I'm not, no. I have them on no setting (just the covers themselves) or on the white noise setting (which I don't hear). I love silence, so while they have the option of music, I usually don't take it.

If you're not playing music, then...  How do they do on very low frequency rumble like a train?  How about a subwoofer that's booming?   Does it do well with the birds chirping?  A dog barking?   What about people talking in the office that you don't want to hear?  I've heard they only work well for more steady sounds, like an AC, fan, mower.

How could you not hear white noise?  It makes me think the setting isn't working if you can't hear it.

Active noise cancellation (if done properly) uses a mic to record ambient sounds, and then a speaker to generate equal frequency opposite phase sound waves to cancel it out at the listener's ear.  If the speaker is capable of producing 20 - 20k Hz, that should prevent the listener from hearing stuff from both the low and high frequencies.

sol

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Re: Suburban Noise Pollution
« Reply #99 on: July 07, 2018, 01:45:17 PM »
Living in civilized society is such a huge drag.  All of those other human beings in such close proximity, it boggles the mind.  They pile on top of each other, then start demanding more environmental disruptions like centralized wastewater treatment and a fully connected power grid that never goes down.  Sometimes they even visit each other's homes to eat and drink.  They congregate in great buildings full of books they can take home, and they pay people to control crime, suppress fires, and collect their refuse.  It's a nightmarish hellscape of cooperative space sharing.  I don't know how they manage it.