Living in a large city like Los Angeles has its perks, but they do not include “peace and quiet.” Compared to a city like Manhattan, L.A. is a dream – but L.A. doesn’t share the same ironic benefit of New York where sirens just blend into the ongoing dull roar of the rest of the city.
Without that ever-present noise baseline, every noise stands out more deafeningly. And the primary culprit is the amount of general transportation within the city.
Noise Pollution Caused by Highways
Living near highways can be disturbing, but driving on them during busy morning and evening hours are the worse. Leaving the driver’s window down has proven to cause left-side hearing damage, while driving a convertible with the top down is the decibel (dB) equivalent to someone shouting loudly.
If your home is located near the highway the level of noise that you have to deal with on a day to day basis can be annoying. The lack of sleep and hearing concerns that it can cause homeowners is a high health risk that has to be adjusted.
Check out a few of our posts on highway sound barriers below:
Deafening Decibels
A study was conducted on two classrooms in New York City, one facing a train, and one not. The train passed by every 4.5 minutes for 30 seconds, at 89 dB. The students in the classroom facing the train were about 11 months behind the students whose room faced away from the train.
L.A. freeways may not reach 89 dBs every 4.5 minutes, but they do maintain consistent levels of 65 dBs, and there are many schools in L.A. located adjacent to such freeways.
Airplanes at LAX
At all hours of every day, roaring planes depart from and land at LAX, which is in close proximity to neighborhoods and schools. Additional research indicates that decibels are loud enough at Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy to cause permanent hearing damage if the noise is sustained long enough.
Learn about the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990
Visit our Applications Page on Airport Sound Barriers.
Helicopters in LA
The LAPD has the largest municipal airborne police force in the country, with two to 17 choppers in the air at all times. Helicopters are surprisingly noisy, as they combine engine noise (87dBs) and the rotating blades (10 additional dBs). In fact, helicopter noise has become such an issue that the Federal Aviation Administration has been forced to write regulations for the helicopters in order to minimize the noise.
Learn more about treating large-scale and commercial sound walls by calling 1-866-348-0833 today!
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