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by Neil Donnenfeld
New technology is going to enhance our ability to have a quieter world. The future is looking brighter and quieter!!
There is a fundamental business concept that if you can measure something you can get control of it and do something about it. The health literature sets clear limits on noise levels that are acceptable and those that lead to illness. Now, as seen in this article, it is getting easier and easier to make on the spot sound readings and to immediately determine if acceptable noise limits are being breached. We no longer need be silent in our desire to have a quieter world as we can point out objective data.
The next step is to require enforcement by government to protect those that would do us harm. This test currently under way in Edmonton is the most comprehensive and encouraging example I have seen. If you can’t stand the quiet, prepare to get measured and ticketed. The future of noise enforcement is coming.
Neil D. Donnenfeld is the President of Products Ahead, LLC, which develops and markets consumer packaged goods that provide real benefits to consumers with unmet needs. A former brand manager at Procter and Gamble, he evolved into an entrepreneurial executive and eventually became CEO at Advanced Vision Research, makers of TheraTears(R), from its start-up to its sale to a publicly traded company. Neil developed hyperacusis as a result of proton beam radiation to treat an acoustic neuroma, a rare, benign brain tumor that develops on the acoustic nerve. As a result, he has become a noise activist and is committed to helping create a quieter, more civil world. He also serves on many not for profit boards including President of the Jewish Journal, Vice Commodore of The Swampscott Yacht Club, and Vice President of Acoustic Neuroma Association.
