It's official:nuisance noise linked with health problems

I am sure I have mentioned quite often how irritated I am if I have to hear my neighbors when I'm in my own home. It isn't just a mental health issue, but a physical health issue, too:

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It’s not simply that noise accelerates the grumpification process. It is a pollutant, with well-established effects on multiple aspects of physical and mental health, from cardiovascular disease to depression.

An estimated 1 million healthy life years are lost every year in western Europe due to environmental noise, largely due to noise triggering the stress hormone cortisol, which damages blood vessels over time. As the article points out, this isn't a matter of people being too sensitive:

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Humans evolved our acute hearing millions of years ago, when we were prey animals and had to pinpoint predators, so it is no wonder we find noise stressful. It is hardwired.
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People tend to be more irritated by noises that come from unpredictable human sources (loud music, loft conversions and tanked-up England fans) than predictable impersonal ones (roads).

Of course all this is linked to the fact that there are so many fucking people in the world:

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Unsurprisingly, all of the loudest areas are in cities; it is well established that the more densely populated an area is, the more complaints there will be.

I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again, but anti-discrimination housing laws need to be relaxed to allow people to live in areas with people who share similar perspectives on noise, clutter in common areas, and second-hand smoke. Otherwise we are going to have a lot more stressed out people, especially as the population continues to increase and we get even more crowded, some of whom are bound to snap. Care should be taken to ensure it is behavioral choices not innate characteristics that influence where people are housed, but I don't see how anyone can legitimately scream discrimination if there are "noisy" and "quiet" apartment buildings, to allow people the sort of home life they desire.

The comments, by the way, have a lot of complaints about kids, and a lot of people complaining about people who complain about kids.

I'm so glad I moved to a quiet neighborhood in a rural town with a large piece of land around my house. I used to live in the city, and the stress from constant noise drove me insane. Of course it's not perfect here either, as I have one breeder family behind me that has dozens of twenty-somethings party in their back yard, which faces ours. I usually pop in ear plugs and ignore it, but it seems to be a thing they do every weekend during the summer.

My hearing is quite acute, and I suffer with migraines. Sometimes even the sound of lawn mowers going off in the distance can trigger headaches. It is STILL a fuckton better than when I lived in crowded city conditions on a busy intersection. That shit was bad.

If my breederific neighbors are too loud, my husband and I go outside and yell at them. It usually fixes the problem pretty quickly. If the problem persists this summer, we will complain to the city. I have got a multitude of health problems right now, and the last thing I need is to be kept up by a bunch of screaming meemies. Breeders don't care about anyone but themselves. My other neighbor is a drummer, and he's super respectful about the noise at his house. We have an agreement that if either one of us makes too much noise, just to let us know and we'll quiet down right away. Usually when he hears the tunes on at our house, he brings his beers and comes over for a visit. He's CF too, btw. Awesome guy, really.

Our other neighbor is a biker. Even HE is quieter than those loser breeders. He lives alone and he never bugs us. Nice guy, I'm suspecting CF too, although I don't know him as well as our drummer friend.

The thing I hated most about college was the constant fucking noise everywhere. If I complained everyone acted like I was the problem. People fucking suck.

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mumofsixbirds

My hearing is quite acute, and I suffer with migraines. Sometimes even the sound of lawn mowers going off in the distance can trigger headaches. It is STILL a fuckton better than when I lived in crowded city conditions on a busy intersection. That shit was bad.

Sadly you are singing my song. Where I live is an oasis of quiet. The two roommates' sounds don't penetrate my bedroom, and children aren't within hearing distance. I fear the times when I need to leave my oasis. I get migraines so bad that it can cause an ambulance ride to interrupt my trip to the grocery store.

I fear the installment of my 3rd roommate, and I hope that she will be a nice quiet sort as was the roommate who lived in the room before. The last roommate died in her room from what is thought to be a heart attack.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

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craftyzits
I get migraines so bad that it can cause an ambulance ride to interrupt my trip to the grocery store.

If you can get your roommates to go in with you on it may be worth seeing if you can get free delivery from the grocery store. I looked into it but the free didn't kick in at my spending level. With the three of you it may work and would be worth looking into. Migraines really stink!

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mumofsixbirds
My hearing is quite acute, and I suffer with migraines. Sometimes even the sound of lawn mowers going off in the distance can trigger headaches. It is STILL a fuckton better than when I lived in crowded city conditions on a busy intersection. That shit was bad.

I sometimes wonder if I'm more sensitive to high-pitched noises than the average person. Childish yelps of glee, in particular, bring on headaches, as does mechanical high-pitched whining. I do get migraines as well, but infrequently, so I haven't figured out the trigger. Natural sounds, like birds or wind, don't really bother me. But human sounds, especially when I'm trying to sleep or concentrate, annoy the fuck out of me.

(Barking dogs I lump in with human sounds. There are two dogs that go on barking frenzies just as I'm trying to sleep, most nights. Fortunately they are at least a block away, but their owners are on my mental shit list.)

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freya

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craftyzits
I get migraines so bad that it can cause an ambulance ride to interrupt my trip to the grocery store.

If you can get your roommates to go in with you on it may be worth seeing if you can get free delivery from the grocery store. I looked into it but the free didn't kick in at my spending level. With the three of you it may work and would be worth looking into. Migraines really stink!

I have my canned goods delivered via Walmart as I always buy enough to activate free shipping.

Where I live you can't get refrigerated or frozen groceries delivered at ANY PRICE. I do a mad dash on a mobility scooter to obtain the crap in Fry's just as quick as I possibly can. I pay gas for a friend of mine to take me to the store then help me in with the groceries. Just for extra security, I keep an MP3 player and earbuds in the purse in case of a squaller.

The roommates are fairly useless for helping me get groceries, as they must walk to the store, and one has cerebral palsy. I live in a medical independent living house for people with a severe mental illness. I've no problems managing the mental illness, I live here because my physical ailments can prove lethal, but there are no independent living situations for people with physical problems in my city.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!