| Dr. Kestner: Can the boom-boom-boom from car stereos damage your hearing? |
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By: BY Dr. MARK KESTNER
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There you sit: in your home, in your car at a traffic signal, or in your business. You are engaged in conversation, relaxing, working or otherwise involved. Then you are interrupted by the boom-boom-boom of a car stereo up to a quarter-mile away.
Not only are you irritated by this disturbing sonic assault, everyone around you is being affected in the same way. So if 10 people are stopped at the light, ten people are being bombarded by sound energy. If your home is affected, every home in your neighborhood and all along the street near your home is affected. If the sound is invasive enough to penetrate your business, every business along the street is likewise subject to the pulsing, thumping annoyance.
While it is irritating to feel the thumps yourself, realize that every vehicle that is cranking out the noxious sound is disturbing literally hundreds of residents with each drive down the street.
Besides being annoying, the sound is not healthy. Exposure to second-hand sound is a little like exposure to second-hand smoke. Persistent, cumulative exposure to high volume sound waves is damaging to the very delicate structures of your ears. Since the phenomenon of boom-blasting from specialized car stereo equipment is recent in development, it is not clear what risk it is to the hearing of victims that happen to be near enough to feel the bass waves. It is certain that it has some potential for harm.
It is also illegal. Municipalities across the country have upgraded existing or passed new ordinances to restrict the practice. Murfreesboro noise ordinance states that if the sound can be heard in another vehicle with the windows rolled up, or across property lines, the noise is a violation.
Some residents have raised the question of whether the existing ordinance is being enforced. After having to pause in a phone conversation (indoors) to wait until a particularly loud vehicle rolled past my office, it occurred to me to contact our chief of police to ask about local enforcement.
According to Murfreesboro Police Chief Glen Chrisman, from Jan. 1 until June 4, 2007, the following citations were issued: 3,192 for speeding; 1,031 for registration; and 1,546 for seatbelt violations.
During the same period, only 46 citations were issued for vehicle noise violations.
In an e-mail response to my question of whether this problem is a priority for his department, Chief Chrisman stated: "Effective immediately, I have directed that a special emphasis be placed on increased enforcement of noise violations. I intend to personally review the number of noise violations issued by our department on a weekly basis beginning with June, 2007."
When I asked whether the enforcement would reduce the occurrences, Chief Chrisman responded: "I think we can do a better job of addressing these violations in order to reduce this behavior. Making officers aware that we expect an emphasis on enforcement is the first objective. That message has been delivered today. Weekly reviews of productivity in this area will assure that attention is being given to this issue. To assist with this effort, we will soon include a number of flat-topped marked police vehicles in our patrol fleet. Violators at intersections often turn down stereos when a police light bar is seen in a rear view mirror. We believe that these flat-topped vehicles can assist with enforcement of these violations near intersections due to the low profile. In the coming fiscal year, we will also include some unmarked patrol vehicles in our fleet to focus on noise and moving violations (speeding, disregarding signs and signals, etc.)."
Chief Chrisman wrote: "Plainly put, we will focus more attention on enforcement of noise violations."
I learned some interesting things while researching this article. In one study it was stated that the drivers of these offensive sound machines were 90 percent young men, highly motivated to continue the behavior (often spending over $2,000 to equip their vehicle), and believed the practice attracted women. What do you think?
Next week I'll tell you about a lady with a rotator cuff problem. Until then, let our law enforcement professionals know they are appreciated. A smile and thank you go a long way.
Dr. Mark Kestner
mkestner@DrKestner.com
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