Noise pollution is an important issue, but I'm skeptical of the idea that the brain can't adapt. Sometimes, some people apparently can't, but it seems like we often do adapt to some noises? I have...
Noise pollution is an important issue, but I'm skeptical of the idea that the brain can't adapt. Sometimes, some people apparently can't, but it seems like we often do adapt to some noises?
I have tinnitus and for a week or two I thought I was getting hyperacusis, but fortunately I did adjust. I think you have to try to adapt and avoid getting obsessed, or it's just going to get worse.
Well, sometimes it's successful and other times less so. For example, when getting new glasses, it can be tricky to tell. Sometimes there's really something wrong and the best thing to do is get a...
Well, sometimes it's successful and other times less so. For example, when getting new glasses, it can be tricky to tell. Sometimes there's really something wrong and the best thing to do is get a better pair, and other times, waiting a few days for your eyes to adjust works out fine.
Unfortunately when it comes to tinnitus, there is no cure so we're left with experimenting with different workarounds.
(Also, people seem to vary widely in how much sleep they need. It's not universally bad for everyone.)
Yes, but do we have any evidence that constant noise has long-term health effects? It seems like we shouldn't worry about it if we have no proof. There are many things that your body adapts to...
Yes, but do we have any evidence that constant noise has long-term health effects? It seems like we shouldn't worry about it if we have no proof. There are many things that your body adapts to that don't hurt your long term health, such as ambient temperature and light changes.
It's definitely a problem at some noise levels. For example, musicians should be looking into ear protection, and there are a lot of other jobs where protecting your hearing is important.
It's definitely a problem at some noise levels. For example, musicians should be looking into ear protection, and there are a lot of other jobs where protecting your hearing is important.
You're absolutely right. That goes without saying. So I didn't. :P But that's one of the problems I found with this article. It keeps talking about it getting louder, but there's no actual...
You're absolutely right. That goes without saying. So I didn't. :P
But that's one of the problems I found with this article. It keeps talking about it getting louder, but there's no actual measurement. I think the only time when Dbs are mentioned is when they are talking about the effectiveness of the cooler shrouds.
Yes, we do: https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/news/20020226/open-office-noise-increases-stress It's pretty well known high, constant stress is something that isnt good for you long...
No, Akir in their followup is saying that all noise at a given volume isn't the same. Office chatter, computer fans whirring, air AC compressor humming, cricket chirping, brook babbling, city...
No, Akir in their followup is saying that all noise at a given volume isn't the same. Office chatter, computer fans whirring, air AC compressor humming, cricket chirping, brook babbling, city horns and construction, etc. All at the same volume, but can have vastly different impact, and differently for individuals. For example Someone might be stressed by the office noise, but relaxed by the crickets.
I am not being pedantic, you are not paying enough attention. The question is weather or not exposure to nominal background noise causes long-term health effects if one is accustomed to them. Your...
I am not being pedantic, you are not paying enough attention. The question is weather or not exposure to nominal background noise causes long-term health effects if one is accustomed to them. Your link doesn't help for two reasons. First, the health issues are being caused by stress, not the sound itself. The sound may be responsible for the stress, but there is no notable damage caused by the sounds themselves. Second, it's not possible to become accustomed to office noises, since those noises are constantly changing; it's talking about a different category than we are.
What on Earth would I get out of arguing out of bad faith here for? What good does linking to the same study a second time help the argument? If anyone is acting in bad faith, it is you, since you...
What on Earth would I get out of arguing out of bad faith here for? What good does linking to the same study a second time help the argument? If anyone is acting in bad faith, it is you, since you are not interested in listening to what I am saying or in explaining how I am wrong.
The mechanism matters, though, because sounds have meaning, and the meaning can itself cause stress. For example, if you get threatened over the telephone, that's certainly going to stress you...
The mechanism matters, though, because sounds have meaning, and the meaning can itself cause stress. For example, if you get threatened over the telephone, that's certainly going to stress you out, but it's not due to the sound itself, but its meaning.
Noises can come to have stressful meanings depending how people think about them, and that can add a level of stress on top of the actual sound. I'm not sure a study can distinguish this? The meaning of random office noise can easily become be lack of control over your environment, feeling like you're a low-status worker nobody really cares about, and so on. Or the soundscape of an environment could become familiar and make you feel at home. And this may not always be something we're consciously aware of.
This article is just about noise, it's not really about the tech industry in particular. Even so, this issue is more specifically about datacenters, which is just a small part of the tech industry.
This article is just about noise, it's not really about the tech industry in particular. Even so, this issue is more specifically about datacenters, which is just a small part of the tech industry.
You're considering them a small part of the tech industry because you're thinking about the people/companies that run the data centers. However, they only exist and are becoming so prevalent...
You're considering them a small part of the tech industry because you're thinking about the people/companies that run the data centers. However, they only exist and are becoming so prevalent because practically the entire industry relies on and uses them. Almost every company has servers in a data centre (or centres) somewhere. From that perspective, they're certainly an aspect and consequence of the industry as a whole.
To be clear, I'm thinking about datacenters being a small part of the tech industry because they are a small part of what tech companies are actually doing. Adobe, for instance, offers cloud...
To be clear, I'm thinking about datacenters being a small part of the tech industry because they are a small part of what tech companies are actually doing. Adobe, for instance, offers cloud services but makes the majority of it's money with the development and support of their applications. Sure, some big companies are completely reliant on their data centers, but there are many of them that do not need datacenters at all.
Noise pollution is an important issue, but I'm skeptical of the idea that the brain can't adapt. Sometimes, some people apparently can't, but it seems like we often do adapt to some noises?
I have tinnitus and for a week or two I thought I was getting hyperacusis, but fortunately I did adjust. I think you have to try to adapt and avoid getting obsessed, or it's just going to get worse.
Well, sometimes it's successful and other times less so. For example, when getting new glasses, it can be tricky to tell. Sometimes there's really something wrong and the best thing to do is get a better pair, and other times, waiting a few days for your eyes to adjust works out fine.
Unfortunately when it comes to tinnitus, there is no cure so we're left with experimenting with different workarounds.
(Also, people seem to vary widely in how much sleep they need. It's not universally bad for everyone.)
Yes, but do we have any evidence that constant noise has long-term health effects? It seems like we shouldn't worry about it if we have no proof. There are many things that your body adapts to that don't hurt your long term health, such as ambient temperature and light changes.
It's definitely a problem at some noise levels. For example, musicians should be looking into ear protection, and there are a lot of other jobs where protecting your hearing is important.
You're absolutely right. That goes without saying. So I didn't. :P
But that's one of the problems I found with this article. It keeps talking about it getting louder, but there's no actual measurement. I think the only time when Dbs are mentioned is when they are talking about the effectiveness of the cooler shrouds.
Yes, we do:
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/news/20020226/open-office-noise-increases-stress
It's pretty well known high, constant stress is something that isnt good for you long term. Its fight-or-flight, not flight-flight-flight.
But that's about noise which causes you stress, and the stress is what is unhealthy. Not about sound in general.
Sound is noise... Noise is sound. They are synonyms. You're being pedantic.
No, Akir in their followup is saying that all noise at a given volume isn't the same. Office chatter, computer fans whirring, air AC compressor humming, cricket chirping, brook babbling, city horns and construction, etc. All at the same volume, but can have vastly different impact, and differently for individuals. For example Someone might be stressed by the office noise, but relaxed by the crickets.
I am not being pedantic, you are not paying enough attention. The question is weather or not exposure to nominal background noise causes long-term health effects if one is accustomed to them. Your link doesn't help for two reasons. First, the health issues are being caused by stress, not the sound itself. The sound may be responsible for the stress, but there is no notable damage caused by the sounds themselves. Second, it's not possible to become accustomed to office noises, since those noises are constantly changing; it's talking about a different category than we are.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1568850/
It's almost like you're arguing, just to argue. In bad faith, or something?
What on Earth would I get out of arguing out of bad faith here for? What good does linking to the same study a second time help the argument? If anyone is acting in bad faith, it is you, since you are not interested in listening to what I am saying or in explaining how I am wrong.
The mechanism matters, though, because sounds have meaning, and the meaning can itself cause stress. For example, if you get threatened over the telephone, that's certainly going to stress you out, but it's not due to the sound itself, but its meaning.
Noises can come to have stressful meanings depending how people think about them, and that can add a level of stress on top of the actual sound. I'm not sure a study can distinguish this? The meaning of random office noise can easily become be lack of control over your environment, feeling like you're a low-status worker nobody really cares about, and so on. Or the soundscape of an environment could become familiar and make you feel at home. And this may not always be something we're consciously aware of.
This, exactly. You can "adapt" to near constant torture. It will shorten your life, though.
This article is just about noise, it's not really about the tech industry in particular. Even so, this issue is more specifically about datacenters, which is just a small part of the tech industry.
You're considering them a small part of the tech industry because you're thinking about the people/companies that run the data centers. However, they only exist and are becoming so prevalent because practically the entire industry relies on and uses them. Almost every company has servers in a data centre (or centres) somewhere. From that perspective, they're certainly an aspect and consequence of the industry as a whole.
It sounds like the data center problem isn't going to be that hard to fix if it's taken seriously? Fixing noise in general will be much harder.
To be clear, I'm thinking about datacenters being a small part of the tech industry because they are a small part of what tech companies are actually doing. Adobe, for instance, offers cloud services but makes the majority of it's money with the development and support of their applications. Sure, some big companies are completely reliant on their data centers, but there are many of them that do not need datacenters at all.