They Hear It, Too Loud and Clear

In the neighborhood supermarket, shoppers hear Gloria Estefan belting out that song about the conga. At the checkout line, there’s something new, a television blaring infomercials. The din of restaurants, traffic and malls only adds to the aural assault.

These days, with many Americans suffering pre-holiday stress and post-terrorism anxiety, badly needed peace and quiet is in short supply. Experts say constant exposure to even low-level noise can increase stress. And, conversely, when we are already stressed, we may be more susceptible to the effects of noise.

In the extreme, individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from the Sept. 11 attacks or other traumas have a heightened sensitivity to sound. They may be edgy and jump when a truck passes or a door slams because their central nervous system has been “cranked up,” says Dr. C. Scott Saunders, associate director of UCLA trauma psychiatry. “They are attempting to be alert to danger, because the world has become dangerous,” he says.

Of course, while a quiet environment may be soothing, it will not cure the condition. But for the just plain stressed out, a break from the constant clamor may be beneficial, even if it just means reducing noise rather than escaping it altogether.

Rabbi Susan Laemmle, dean of Religious Life at USC, uses her morning drive to create an oasis of silence. On high-anxiety days, she keeps the car radio off and the windows rolled up to block traffic sounds, so she can gather her thoughts. “We’ve created a culture of noise,” she says. “I very purposely choose not to carry a cell phone around with me. I want to have quiet time.”

Others in search of quiet have banded together to form a “soundscape awareness movement,” devoted to raising aural consciousness, while lowering decibel levels.

“We try to make the world a little quieter and, therefore, a little healthier,” says Hans Schmid, president of the Right to Quiet Society, a 20-year-old Vancouver organization with several hundred members worldwide. Finding pockets of quiet in a busy city is a challenge. But Laemmle believes you don’t need total silence to ease the stress. Soothing community activities, such as attending prayer services, visiting museums and art exhibits, and attending classical music concerts can be comforting, she says. “The arts can be very helpful. ... The arts take the chaos of experience and put it into a form that’s beautiful, ordered and therefore hopeful.”

Deciding how to use music is a big concern to real estate developer Rick Caruso, who has created such open-air retail and entertainment spaces as the Commons in Calabasas, the Promenade in Thousand Oaks and is now working on the Grove near the Farmers Market. “We spend an enormous amount of time discussing the level of noise and what should be heard,” he says. One goal of outdoor music, he says, is to muffle nearby traffic. Water, in the form of fountains, lakes and waterfalls, is another tool to mask ambient community noise, and landscaping can be designed to absorb sound.

For popular restaurants, controlling the din of conversations and clanging dishes can be a challenge. “Acoustics has been a tough balancing act in our restaurants,” says Rick McCormack, vice president of design for the Cheesecake Factory. “It’s always a battle to keep the noise level down.” The chain’s signature limestone floors and plaster walls are unforgiving hard surfaces that allow sounds to ricochet. He now consults with an acoustical engineer for ideas on lowering the volume, such as hiding acoustical insulation under the ceiling murals.

Sometimes, escaping noise completely is a priority. Spiritual author Deepak Chopra occasionally schedules a week of silence. “I go into the wilderness,” he says. “There’s no radio, TV, voicemail ... you don’t speak a word.”

Self-help lecturer and writer Debbie Ford believes most people would benefit from starting out each day with five minutes of quiet, deep breathing rather than immediately putting on the television and radio. She points out that not only is the external world noisy, but so is our internal world. These days, she says, much of our inner dialogue contains anxious thoughts.

“Our brains are always filled with some noise,” agrees Rollin McCraty, research director for HeartMath, a company that develops stress-reduction programs. He explains that during times of emotional stress, anxious thoughts can be an overwhelming drain. Heightened anxiety fills our brains with what he calls internal noise. “An excess of mental noise makes it very difficult to perceive what’s really going on. ... Finding a quieter space can help shut out the noise overloading our nervous system.”

Those in favor of a quieter world point out that they are not advocating silence. They just want the level of man-made sounds to be lowered, so the natural world can be heard.

“Maybe we should be listening to raindrops, our children’s laughter, the good sounds of nature,” says environmental psychologist Arline Bronzaft, who has done numerous studies on noise levels. “Noise is a kind of pollutant. [It] is unwanted, uncontrollable, unpredictable sound,” she says.

The Noise Center of the League for the Hard of Hearing, based in New York, lists aircraft and traffic as top offenders. A 1997 study by Bronzaft found that 70% of residents living within flight corridors reported that aircraft noise disturbed them and damaged their health.

Valerie Cole has lived in Cheviot Hills on the Westside for nearly 30 years. During that time, there has been a dramatic increase in surrounding noise. From the traffic heading to Century City and the trucks rumbling by to the airplanes and traffic helicopters overhead, Cole says the racket goes on night and day, interrupting sleep and making backyard get-togethers unpleasant. Her frustration and concern for the environment of Westside neighborhoods spurred her to become a community advocate. “Noise is a major factor in this city right now,” Cole says. “The quality of life has deteriorated.”

Experts believe extended exposure to noise has ramifications beyond stress and quality of life. Of particular concern is what happens to children. Twenty-five years ago, Bronzaft conducted what is now considered a landmark study. She went into a New York City school located beside an elevated train and compared students in the noisy and quiet areas of the building. Bronzaft discovered that children in the noisy side of the school lagged a year behind in their reading abilities. After the school corrected the acoustical problems, the students eventually caught up.

Other studies have found noise also can cause physiological and psychological changes. Researchers found that exposure to aircraft noise raised blood pressure and stress hormones in children and contributed to a feeling of helplessness. Language development, too, is slowed by noise exposure, one study found.

“Noise is definitely a major source of stress for human beings,” says Gary Evans, a professor of design and environmental analysis at Cornell University who has been involved in noise studies. He points out that a quiet environment is always one of the top five factors chosen in quality of life studies. Even people who think noise does not bother them may, in fact, be affected. In a study of open office spaces, workers who claimed not to be bothered by the clamor had elevated stress hormones and increased cardiovascular activity.

“You can learn to cope with noise, but you pay a price. ... It takes a toll on the body,” Evans says.