Ear plugs do more than just protect your hearing; they will protect your very sanity! Of course, some people like hustle and bustle, but many others prefer to keep commotion at a minimum. But how about those who react badly to living like sardines in a can?
You get ear plugs, that’s all! They’re cheap for getting something so precious back in return: your ability to hear yourself think. It’s an unfortunate fact of urban life that one’s neighbors are usually on the other side of the wall – or, even, the other side of the door in the case of roommates!
And that’s where ear plugs can help. They should be helpful to some degree, if not a perfect final solution. Most commonly available kinds, however, are only rated up to thirty-two or thirty-three decibels, an absurdly low level of prevention, one comparable to mild conversational tones. Those of better quality are not as easy to find and will require a bit of research to procure.
But it may be impractical to wear them continuously. Though many do get used to them, many also find them uncomfortable. Ultimately, no one should have to live with noise pollution in the first place. But hardly anyone anywhere believes noise pollution to be a serious isse, one warranting official action. Believe it or not, even the city with the toughest noise pollution laws in the country, New York, treats the matter seriously enough. And ironically, the one greatest source of noise complaints, that between neighbors, is precisely what civic involvement tends to shy away from!
Jean-Paul Sartre famously remarked that “hell is other people;” this may explain whyThe Big Apple is so reluctant to intervene between warring neighbors, which is but hell multiplied exponentially! So what, then, does their vaunted noise pollution laws actually do? And what else does a call to 311 offer besides a chance to gripe to someone?
Well, enough people tolerate noise well enough such that it isn’t much of a problem. That’s the sad truth, in the final analysis: most folks just don’t mind it. Hence, some things will never change. Mental sanity is not something that’s highly valued; indeed, not many know what true sanity is nor how noise plays an important part in preventing it!
