by Esher Stahl

Created on: April 28, 2008

Searching for the `Quiet' in the Day

In the midst of today's increasingly chaotic lifestyles, it has become difficult to find a quiet place and take a moment to collect one's thoughts or simply enjoy the solitude. It would seem no matter where we go or what we do we can no longer evade the noise. Noise, it has become its own brand of pollutant.

Personally, I have noticed the intrusion of escalating volumes from external sources for a while, but it didn't really strike me as obvious until recently. Enjoying (or hoping to) the warmth and sunlight of an early Saturday morning, I situated myself on the balcony with a nice cup of tea ready to drink in the morning rays and sit languid in the company of nature's beauty rabbits enjoying fresh, dew-cloaked grass and birds, a handsome variety of Florida natives, vocalizing their pleasure with the grandness of the new day. What a tranquil setting; I considered myself lucky. However, my peace was not to last; rather short-lived. Briefly vacating my perch to retrieve a napkin from the kitchen upon return the realization was like a boxer's well-placed one-two jab to the face.

The pleasantries of nature's greeting had succumbed to the prevailing noises of our every day trappings. The reverberations from vehicles on nearby roadways filtered across the pond, work trucks from a neighboring business droned on throughout the day (who would have thought the safety beep on a vehicle backing up could truly grate on one's nerves.) Through this auditory observation it actually felt as if all these sounds, when combined, became nothing but noise. They developed a tangible density that struck a disharmonious chord and oppressiveness to my senses.

The fact of the matter is this is not isolated to my little corner of the world. Surely, everyone in every city or town has realized the same affects. From this discovery it leads one to ponder if the incessant and increasingly tormenting volume could have any long-lasting or permanent affects on our hearing. Think about it. Since about forever, we've been listening to our mothers' warnings to "keep the volume down" on our radios, record players, walkmans, and now our iPods, so as not to damage our hearing. Many workplaces have safety policies in place to protect employees from noise exposure in their environments, such as factory mechanics, construction, road work, even the police when practicing with their firearms use ear protection. Let's also point out that many communities actively administer

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