Noise pollution

Have you ever come across people who turn up the volumes on their phones while they are watching some YouTube video or a Tiktok feature?  Mindless of people around them, they turn up the volume and pollute the air around them with noise.

Another pet peeve is when people take calls and talk loudly in public. Where has etiquette gone? Now imagine 100 million people on their gadgets, taking calls, watching YouTube videos and otherwise entertaining themselves without being mindful of others’ personal spaces.

The air is polluted with not just dust and pollen, but with noise. I have this habit of telling them off, asking them to get a headset or earbuds. And they reply: “Ah malakas ba? Sorry…” Wow, they do not even mind that you mind them. Where has good manners gone?

The other bad habit we have tolerated in this society is LOUDNESS. Whether it’s talking in elevators or talking among peers in a restaurant, generally people now think it is alright to be loud. Or have we gone deaf? Or hard of hearing due to youngsters’ exposure to headphones and loud music? They say we be-come a little deaf when we often expose ourselves to loud or high decibels.

When I was involved in showbiz, many musicians suffered this predicament – being a little deaf due to increased exposure to louder than usual music. Ex-pose yourself to music at high decibels and you will suffer some hearing loss, that’s for sure. It’s an occupational hazard for people in showbiz – loud music, late nights and cigarette smoke. It’s a recipe for lifestyle diseases later in life, they soon realize.

The complete opposite is attending vespers or a similar ceremony at the monks’ chapel in Bukidnon. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, literally, as I also heard my bag zipper unzip in a church that’s open air but with everyone so quiet you could hear every whisper. I love that silence. Deafening, yes, but very calming and peaceful.

Our situation now is that people find it oh so normal to talk loud and to listen to loud music, videos and other noisy media. Have you gone to a restaurant where the staff play radio in their sound system or karaoke players in the guise of background music? It definitely is not music to eat by. Psychologists say loud music makes you eat faster while mellow music makes you eat slower. Maybe this is why fast food restaurants play fast and loud music. So they get rid of you faster and there is a quicker turnover of seats. I also have the habit of asking the staff to tone it down or change the station if it’s radio. Don’t accept loud, change it.

In a car, sometimes we have different music tastes for different passengers. This is why kids now bring their own headsets even if in a family van or car. While the senior owner plays Ray Conniff (who’s that?) or Sergio Mendes and the Brazil 66, the kids are probably listening to rock or indie. My driver does not like the group

Chicago, so he changes the track when it starts to play. I want to tell him, “but that is my era!!”

Cars now have USB ports and Bluetooth devices so you can play your Spotify playlist or have a USB stick of your old favorites. It has eclipsed our favorite Crossover radio station (now also on its own app) or the DJs of yesteryears who knew all the songs and their artists. Though we miss those days, we need to adapt to the times. If at all you still have precious CDs, some cars still have CD players, thank God.

Even at home or in the office, you can no longer get away from noise or music, depending on how the sound hits you. There are Bluetooth speakers of every size; one gift I got was a tiny cube speaker, as big as an iPhone plug. Or it can be a boombox, now following you through Bluetooth all around the house.

There is a saying, “silent waters run deep” but there are people who cannot stand silence. They fill the dead air with any sound – they read billboards, read anything they see, hum a song they will not finish and otherwise fill the silence with any sound, just because. They cannot stand silence. They feel uncom-fortable when no one is talking in a car, in a room or anywhere two or more people are present.

I know someone who also cannot sleep unless there is some white noise from the television. This is the noise when stations go off the air. Some people need that white noise to sleep. Can you imagine? It is a buzz that can carry itself into my dreams!

So, how do we remove ourselves from all the noise? Find quiet time. Mine is in the mornings when the house is quiet, the streets are empty and I can only hear my keyboard “clickity-clack,” if at all.

Others find a church visit useful. Churches and chapels are open for visitors even when there is no mass or service. Stay inside, say a prayer and just reflect.
When all else fails, wear a headset with noise-cancelling features. Then you will find your own peace and quiet, and listen to nothing if you wish.