Shhhhh!

Last fall, I was standing on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. Hurricane Ridge features clumps of subalpine firs, bent by the frequent 75-mile-an-hour winter winds, and since it is at treeline, it sports spectacular panoramic views. On a clear day, which it was, you can see the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. From my vantage point, I could see Victoria, Canada. From an elevation of about 5400 feet, I stood watching a breathtaking sunset that stretched across the horizon. Ah, bliss!

Besides the impressive mountains with the peaks and glaciers, Olympic National Park features a vast array of terrain, including rocky offshore islands, sandy beaches, 600 miles of trails through the wilde
ess, and Hoh Rain Forest, which contains, I recently discovered, the quietest spot in America.

In his March 2006 article in Men’s Health http://www.menshealth.com, Tom McGrath spoke with naturalist Gordon Hempton, who said there is one spot in the Hoh Rain Forest that is totally devoid of any man-made sounds, a rarity these days, even in rural areas.

Although this is sad from a naturalist’s perspective, it is also cause for conce
for every one of us. While it is well documented that noise results in hearing loss (hearing damage occurs beginning at exposure to 85 decibels, which has already happened to about 10 millio
Americans), it has also been found that continued exposure to high levels of noise also causes sleep disorders, stress, high blood pressure and heart disease.

And most of us are exposed to chronic high levels of noise – the noise inside of a car is louder than that in an airplane cockpit. In cities, people are constantly exposed to sound levels that can contribute to hearing loss. Even the suburbs aren’t immune from noise – lawn mowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers, airplanes, car alarms, car stereos, all contribute to the ongoing din.

According to Les Blomberg, of the http://www.nonoise.org/ Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, a national non-profit organization that seeks to raise awareness about noise pollution, people find noise annoying at 55-65 decibels (somewhere between a window air conditioner and a vacuum cleaner), and every additional 10 decibels is perceived as a doubling of the noise. The pain threshold is around 127 decibels (equivalent to somewhere right between a chain saw and a jack hammer).

Here are some resources for more information on noise, it’s effects on our health, and for information on how to reduce noise in your life:nn*A great graphic showing the scale of noise annoyance, see the Bureau of Transportation’s website. http://www.bts.gov/cgi-bin/breadcrumbs/PrintVersion.cgi?date=28214309nn*An interesting 2001 Smithsonian Magazine article about Blomberg’s work. http://www.nonoise.org/library/busters/buster.htm nn*Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online. http://www.ehponline.org

What can you do today to reduce the noise you produce? What can you do today to reduce the amount of noise to which you are exposed?