A WORLD OF NOISE
“Noise is a form of acoustic violence. In our society, there is an obvious connection between money and the possibility to afford high-power audio equipment. We can conclude…that the powerful ones… exploit acoustic violence in order to keep their prevalence.” - Federico Miyara, Director-Coordinator of the Acoustics and Electroacoustics Laboratory, National University of Rosario, Argentina.
At 3.00am the refuse collectors arrived and set about attacking the wheelie-bins. A dog began to bark causing a chain reaction across the neighborhood. A car alarm sounded at the end of the street and a group of young men laughed raucously below my window. Someone began to play his stereo system at less than responsible levels two floors above, with the dull thud of the bass waltzing with the pounding of my rapidly increasing heart-beat.
A few hours later I was walking in the street on my way to work, the general rush of traffic accompanying the throng of several persistent thoughts: things I had forgotten to do, people I had promised to meet, essentials I had put off for another day. Screams, chatter, construction, car horns and radios muscled in on these racing thoughts.
In rather masochistic fashion, I attempted to select and separate the various elements that made up this early morning world of noise. I was stunned just how much I had become “used” to the total absence of peace, where every auditory space was filled with a diverse variety of dissonance, a perverse mechanical chaos.
The traffic was the most obvious intruder roaring in at around 70 decibels (dBA) closely followed by the shouting from scaffolding workers across each side of the street coming in at about 90dbs. As I continued my way down towards the main street, a pneumatic drill greeted me with great gusto at 120dbs with a garbage disposal truck bringing up the rear and pulling to a stop rather reluctantly at the pedestrian crossing dropping from 95dbs to around 75. As is customary for the Spanish in Madrid, the car horns flew into action. The ensuing cacophony peaked at over 118dbs. Next, an ambulance siren screamed past on the main road at 120dbs while a baby struggled in its mother’s arms, letting out a cry that hit the 110dbs mark before falling to a 60dbs of belligerent whining. Casting a sympathetic eye towards the red-faced infant, I rounded the corner, passing the noisiest tapas bar this side of the galaxy. The coffee machine shrieked and hissed like an aged locomotive amid the accusatory tones of several old men while hacked and coughed up what remained of their lungs. My withering ears captured these waves at a combined total of roughly 120-125 dbs.
Heading for the refuge of the metro I passed a man, apoplectic with rage for one reason or another, bellowing into his mobile at an impressive 90dbs. As I made my way up the remainder of the main thoroughfare I had the shock of the street sanitation motorcyclist bearing down on me at approx. 95dbs. Nimbly side stepping out of its path, (just as the motorcyclist had mentally manoeuvred around the possibility that pavements were for pedestrians) a small yapping dog bounced up and down near my left ankle straining to reach 80dbs, while it’s female owner screeched at it to stop as though her very life depended on it, pushing the combination to a sizable 125dbs. A new jack hammer somewhere high up in scaffolding above, pummelled my ear drums at 130dbs before I disappeared down the subway steps to the Metro. I didn’t have to wait too long for my train before it came hurtling from its tunnel like a wild animal at around 75-80dbs.1
The reader may have gathered that this was hardly the most scientific analysis. Decibel levels may be significantly higher or lower. (I suspect the former) Nevertheless, the core area of concern remains unaltered. In less than five minutes I had been exposed to a fluctuating and combined noise level of approx. 1,400dbs. And if noise levels above 85 dBA can cause harm to hearing over a period of time, then we have to wonder what harm it may be doing to our psyche:
Human perception of loudness also conforms to a logarithmic scale; a 10-decibel increase is perceived as roughly a doubling of loudness. Thus, 30 decibels is 10 times more intense than 20 decibels and sounds twice as loud; 40 decibels is 100 times more intense than 20 and sounds 4 times as loud; 80 decibels is 1 million times more intense than 20 and sounds 64 times as loud. Distance diminishes the effective decibel level reaching the ear. Thus, moderate auto traffic at a distance of 100 ft (30 m) rates about 50 decibels. To a driver with a car window open or a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the same traffic rates about 70 decibels; that is, it sounds 4 times louder... Subjected to 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 decibels the ear registers pain, but hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85 decibels. At a distance of 2,000 ft (600 m), the noise of a jet takeoff reaches about 110 decibels—approximately the same as an automobile horn only 3 ft (1 m) away. 2
And this is seen as a normal, unquestioned symptom of urban life, where opportunities to attain an auditory peace, is increasingly denied.
I see this warring tussle of frustration and acceptance mixed together with countless pressures in the furrowed brows of my fellow citizens, being feverishly swept along the arteries of Madrid, at the time of writing, officially the noisiest city in Europe. And let’s keep this in mind as I made my way through the streets that morning and every morning like millions of other people around the world:
One burst of noise, as from a passing truck, is known to alter endocrine, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in many individuals; prolonged or frequent exposure to such noise tends to make the physiological disturbances chronic. In addition, noise-induced stress creates severe tension in daily living and contributes to mental illness. 3
According to a newspaper report from 1999 some bars in Madrid were obliged under law, to close by 2.00am but a conflict ensued due to the fact that most of the business takes place from midnight onwards. “Bar owners, supported by a petition from fifty intellectuals, say they are as important as national monuments, and should be allowed to stay open late since their real business only begins at midnight.” The article goes on to say that “80% of those living in Madrid are exposed to noise levels above the 65 decibel average that is acceptable according to the World Health Organization. A noise law that was promised in 1993 is still undrafted.” This is a common problem through the world. There simply isn’t the will there to address an issue that may have more of a deleterious effect than we realise. What is most disturbing is that: “Many experience average noise levels up to 80 decibels. Many residents are experiencing hearing problems by their 30s or 40s. Noise is due in part to nightlife, but is also made worse by recycling collectors that break glass at 2 a.m.” 4
To hear this breaking glass at 3.00am in the morning is literally an experience you would never forget in the daylight hours and reasonably conscious, let alone when you vainly attempting a re-entry in to the unconsciousness of a much needed sleep. And if the refuse collectors happen to be on the same route with their cheerful caterwauling and manhandling of the wheelie bins, it is literally as though your street is under siege. Why should they care? They have a job to do. Ballerinas they are not. And when the temperatures top 40 degrees you must make a choice between stifling heat or blistering noise from refuse collectors and / or late night revellers.
My most prized possessions are a set of hi-tec, adjustable ear-plugs. Sad but true.
The pace of change, has been rapid in Spain and the cracks are beginning to show in no uncertain terms. The relatively recent adjustment from the dictatorship of Franco; the respective groups of organized crime rings riding on the backs of the poor and dispossessed,entering its opened gates in huge numbers; the Americanization of Spanish culture and the “structural adjusting” of corporate led globalisation along with the replacement of the peseta with the Euro (under the drive to integrate into the nonsense of a “stable” European economy) - all this is expected to be integrated and assimilated in the minimum amount of time.
Unlike other countries which have had some period of gradual adjustment, though they too are feeling the strain, Spain is presently fielding an onslaught of acute pressures with little chance to adapt. This is, of course, all being expressed through increased tension and stress funnelled through our minds and bodies as unwanted sound i.e. Noise.
Much of the reason for lack of initiatives and funding into noise research stems from the subjective nature of sound interpretation. Yet, without getting into academic semantics, if, at the very least, stress is induced, even at the sub-conscious level, this could and should be termed noise. In other words, many sounds become noise based on our socio-cultural experiences, but there seem to be enough people experiencing a consensus of problems that are directly related to noise levels either as a contributory factor to already existing social problems or that can be evaluated as directly detrimental to health, physically and mentally.
Yet this issue of subjectivity seems to be diluting common sense and our ability to influence social development where acoustic awareness becomes the norm. Techno music and the beating of a hammer on a construction site in my auditory perceptions have remarkably similar sound associations in terms of pitch, tonal character, complexity and harmonic layering. The only difference between both is the perceptual degree of creativity involved. To my ears, both have the same irritation quota. We can see that emotions, programs, education and all aspects that make up the human have a direct bearing on the processing of sound and noise.
The REAL problem seems to be that we cannot separate sound and the uses of sound, from our social requirements and desires, which are in turn often bound into a foundation of increasing irresponsibility and “dog eat dog” survival, by design. Sound is transformed into noise through our social “norms”, our programmed attitudes, education and a prevailing wisdom of a declining culture. Sound waves cannot be separated from notions of Self. We create and utilize these waves according to our level of awareness and responsibility. We learn to regulate sound, or not, according to our choices and experiences and, yet again, to our accumulated knowledge. It matters little if this is expressed through the 1000 watt boom breaker speaker units in a young man’s car that almost causes a coronary for the pensioner in the street, or the person who purposefully cuts off the silencer on his 80cc motorbike so that he can contribute to an acoustic terrorism purely to satisfy his macho aspirations. The same example can be applied to the individual that speaks the loudest in a group and takes centre stage for attention to satisfy his “need to feed” and bolster his insecurity simply by the volume and false “charisma” of his presence. Sound can control and subjugate or enhance and heal. It is again dependant on our orientation and self-knowledge.
However, if enough people consciously experience the stress, irritation and physiological damage from exposure to noise then it can be objectively categorized and partial measures taken to alleviate it. Though these measures are likely to be too little too late in some circumstances. The first step is to recognize that this is a major issue and to place it on the agenda of governments.
Noise in the community workplace and the home may be someway down the list of priorities in terms of how sound is being used by the power brokers. We will get to that in Part II.
Back to Madrid.
The Spanish are naturally a people who favour a louder expression of opinions and views than most other Europeans. My Spanish friends are the first to agree. During the protests against the War in Iraq there were demonstrations and protests from all age groups and political affiliations in this colourful society. They can recognize a dictator when they see one. After all, they have had to learn the hard way.
During those protests one early afternoon, I remember one lady began banging her pots and pans on her tiny balcony across the street. She was incensed at the war and she meant to declare it. Very soon, the whole street was attacking their balconies and window frames with saucepans, wooden spoons, spatulas, forks and brush handles and frankly, anything that came to hand, while cars hooted in the street and everyone went crazy with the energy (and noise) of a common ideal.
And that noise was extraordinary—and utterly wonderful. I had never experienced anything like it. It was both moving and powerful to watch this wave of cacophony spread through the streets in real time. This moved me because these noises had meaning and purpose, however idealistic. It was a spontaneous recognition that something, at the very least, extremely undemocratic was taking place in the world and the only way to share and connect with others was through the medium of sound and noise. Sure, there was excitement in the bonding process of an ideal and a cause. Yet many people I spoke to - young and old - were extremely sincere in their reasons and relieved to be able to use their energy for what they thought was a clear example of double standards and injustice. They were empowered. And this empowerment is deeply threatening to those who seek to control and who routinely form well-planned geo-political strategies to funnel those same collective voices and any awareness raised, into their age-old vested interests.
Finally, after a few hours of intermittent saucepan bashing only one lady could be heard in the next street forlornly shouting “No a la Guerra!” “No a la Guerra!” Somehow, this positive expression of noise dissent could only have happened in Spain. Passion with a purpose.
That being so, the noise level on an average day in Madrid, is at times literally deafening, both outdoors and indoors. Enter a bar on Friday night for a “quiet” drink and you will leave minus your voice. Communication is reduced to a roaring “small talk,” for conversing in any depth can be an exercise in futility. The rising level of vocal noise is also in line with an alcohol consumption which is fast becoming as problematic as the U.K. The Spanish in Madrid and in the suburbs also live on top of each other in street after street of tower blocks and apartments, due to the fact that it is of course, much more cost effective. Old as well as cheap housing also means the walls are paper-thin. It is a city increasingly at war with itself, contributing to a stressful crescendo of noise that is a now becoming a familiar story in many over-burdened cities all over the world.
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