Photo courtesy of Bose by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition Fierce Technology reports on Bose’s launch of its direct-to-consumer sound control hearing aid. This technically isn’t a hearing aid within the federal regulatory scheme, and appears to be placed,...
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SpaceX brings jobs–and noise–to small town Texas
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition Over the many years I have been involved with trying to lower the decibel level in our world, and many of my writings have focused on the growing din in urban communities....
Worst noise ever
Photo credit: Rob Knight licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist What is the worst noise or noises for you? Mine range from opera to loud aircraft flying over my house. But the consensus on social media is that the iPhone alarm is the worst...
Add noise to quiet cars? What’s the point?
Photo credit: Mike from Pexels by David M. Sykes, Vice Chair, The Quiet Coalition As Time Magazine notes, there’s frenzied excitement among electric vehicle manufacturers about branding their "signature sound." Think Ford Mustang, Porsche, and don’t forget Harley...
Are robot mowers quiet?
Photo credit: UGA CAES/Extension licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist How loud are robot mowers? A New York Times article on reducing pollution emissions discusses increased focus on landscaping equipment like robot mowers to replace hazardous...
Mars has its first helicopter visit
Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by David M. Sykes, Vice Chair, The Quiet Coalition Here’s some real buzz from NASA: they’ve launched a robotic helicopter on Mars. The old Zen koan needs a re-write: "What is the sound of one hand...
Debunking the myth that ears adapt to loud volumes
Photo credit: Sound On from Pexels by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist (Retired) It’s encouraging to see a recent university news article on the danger of hearing damage from personal listening with earbuds or headphones. Unfortunately, it shares the myth that our ears...
Universal design and DeafSpace guidelines
Image credit: Asmaa Hamed Abdel-Maksoud licensed under CC BY 4.0 by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition When I was a boy I was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s marvelous Guggenheim Museum to want to become an architect. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any talent...
NASA is developing a quiet airplane wing to reduce noise pollution
Photo credit: NASA's Langley Research Center by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition This report on NewAtlas discusses NASA research on a quiet airplane wing. The research uses a wind tunnel and a model airplane to determine the effects of new designs on noise....