This should work. Photo credit: Max Alexander / PromoMadrid licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
In response to Winnie Hu’s article about New York City noise, The New York Times NY Regional reporter, Jonathan Wolfe, has written a piece on how to block out the city’s noise. To get some answers, Wolfe spoke with “Tim Heffernan, a writer and editor at The Wirecutter, the New York Times site that evaluates products, to ask for noise-reducing recommendations.” What follows is Hefferman’s recommendations for the best noise-canceling headphones and over-the-ear headphones, the best white noise machine, and, of course, the best disposable ear plugs.
In addition to the recommenations in Wolfe’s article, the New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suggests that apartment dwellers who live near busy streets with transient street noise consider the advice provided in the city’s “Residential Noise Control Guidance Sheet.” Says one DEP employee, “I use these principles in my own place.”
The DEP’s Residential Noise Control Guidance Sheet and Hefferman’s recommendations are sensible options for blocking noise that is intruding on your personal space. But we need to focus on the bigger issue, namely, keeping all noise in check. For example, along with recommending noise-blocking products, couldn’t The New York Times assign a health reporter to cover noise and its effect on health or report on why the federal government has abdicated its authority to regulate noise? (Here’s a hint: the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Noise Abatement and Control was kneecapped by industry after Ronald Reagan came into power.)
Blocking noise today may give us temporary relief, but it is a poor response to a long-term and significant public health hazard. We need government to regulate noise now to promote our wellbeing and protect our health.
