iPod Noise Pollution Irks Those Nearby

(AP)  Dave Legeret silently fumed as the man seated beside him on the plane blasted techno music on his iPod at full volume.

"It was kind of rude," recalled Legeret, 38, a jewelry designer from Sandy Hook, Conn., who was forced to listen while flying from New York to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., with his wife and 8-year-old son. "Listen to it at a level that just you can hear it and everyone else doesn't have to be subjected to it."

Apple Inc.'s ubiquitous iPod is best known as an instrument of solitude — unless the user ignores standards of etiquette by invading the eardrums of fellow commuters, officemates or other innocent bystanders. Then it starts to get annoying. Especially when you're stuck in close proximity.

Amped to its highest volume, the iPod is not nearly as invasive as the classic loud cell phone conversation. But it can have its moments. Like when you're standing in an elevator at 9 a.m. and a co-worker cranks up Amy Winehouse's "Rehab." (Too early for that song.) Or when an ear-budded subway rider belts what sounds like a Whitney Houston tune with careless abandon, causing other riders to inch away or flee into another car altogether. (True story.)

"I've heard that problem quite a lot, people singing along," said Leander Kahney, managing editor of Wired magazine's Web site. "And, of course, my kids — when they have the iPod in, they shout. They don't realize with the headphones they're being too loud, so they'll conduct conversations without taking their ear buds out. And they're yelling."

That kind of behavior — an ignorance by the user of volume levels and surroundings — is more odious than the low buzz of the iPod, Kahney said.

"Did anyone ever complain about the noise coming from a Walkman or a CD player?" he said. "Unless you're in a quiet environment, you're really gonna have to strain to hear any kind of noise from somebody else's iPod."

Our world, he said, has become freakishly quiet. "It's not noise pollution — it's noise absence. And I find it almost more disturbing and upsetting than I did loud noise. It's sort of unnatural."

But in places and spaces where silence is golden — planes, trains and office cubicles, for example — even slightest thump-thump-thump of bass can feel like a violation.

And then there's the impromptu karaoke problem. Kahney said a colleague at Wired, which covers technology and how it affects culture, has a bad habit of crooning to his playlist at work.

Any Celine Dion in the mix? "Oh no, he listens to these dreadful old hippie songs," he said. "You know, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Allman Brothers."

All is forgiven after a friendly tap on the shoulder, Kahney said. A less confrontational approach may in order, though, when someone refuses to cooperate.

Anna Post, an etiquette instructor at The Emily Post Institute, said she'd heard a story about a woman who asked an iPod-using subway rider to turn down the volume, only to have her request ignored. So she used another tactic: Singing along to the music.

"And, all of a sudden, boy, did that iPod get shut off," said Post, who stressed that "a little social shame can go a long way."

Like the cell phone, the iPod and other music players can foster a sense of apathy when the user is among strangers. It's easier to blow off social norms — and channel Justin Timberlake during rush hour — when you don't know who you're irritating.

"Sometimes people can feel a little anonymous in public," Post said. "Like, `Oh. You know what? I didn't hear you. I didn't make eye contact with you. I can just ignore you and pretend like I'm not a bad person for doing this."'

Of course, many iPod noise polluters should be given the benefit of the doubt. They might be unaware that the volume is up so high. Or they may be hard of hearing (probably because they listen to such loud music).

If the noise is bothersome, Post said it's OK to speak up because most people would be hard pressed not to listen. If they don't, just "grin and bear it and let it go and just be the bigger person," she advised.

Or get an iPod of your own.

"I got to the point where I'm like, 'You know what? You really can't beat it,"' said Aimee Wendt, a 27-year-old Web designer from Madison, Wis. "If you look around, there are so many people with iPods — you might as well join `em."

Legeret, the man stuck listening to techno on the plane ride to Florida, owns an iPod, as does his wife. They listen at respectable levels, and expect others to do the same.

"I'm really conscious of that," he said. "I'm the type of guy where if I'm in public, I'll try not to offend anybody if I can help it."

[rulesrmade2b]

Second hand noise will soon be found to be hazardous to your health. It will eventually be banned in all public places and you will find the "abusers" huddled in the doorways listening to their iPods. Yet people will still complain because they have to run past those abusers in the doorway, covering their ears so their hearing doesn't get damaged. The taxes on music will skyrocket so the abusers can't afford this noise anymore.
Posted by GrammaWhamma at 02:31 AM : Aug 01, 2007


LOL...that is too funny!

[ralan40]

I can't imagine an I-POD being more annoying to those "Lithotripsy" car stereos...

[mitch0927]

Ever since Sony came out with the Walkman, people have been complaining about the ambient noise they deliver. To me it isn't the noise, but the rudeness of the people wearing them. In a public place, when someone is enjoying their music, that's fine, but if you have to YELL at someone to please move out of the way because they are blocking access somewhere, or just walking around in a daze (which I think is hilarious) it can get annoying, but I doubt seriously it will harm my hearing, just my nerves. It seems as if today's society that is in public think they are all alone and will do whatever pleases them, regardless of what it might do to someone else. When you comment on it, they get all defensive and rude and sometimes downright hateful. I believe parents dropped the ball when it came to rearing their children. In my day, if I were rude to an adult and my mom found out, I would get thrashed. The thirty and twenty something crowd has little to no respect towards someone older than them. Their tiny brains have this thought that they have to be respected first before respecting others. Well kids, you are wrong. The old standby is the %u201CGolden Rule%u201D Do to others as you would have them do to you. Not do to others and split. Somehow that has been lost in translation.

[brianbwb-2009]

Its not so much the level as it is the frequency range, the bass and low mid frequencies don't carry as far from the little speakers, so at a distance what most hear is between 1.5 to 6 kHz, the same frequency band as fingernails scratching on a blackboard. It can be quite annoying, even producing physical discomfort, especially for those with above average hearing, or those with acoustically trained ears, like sound engineers.

And for the guy who thinks the world is too quiet, get your hearing checked, son, and if the docs say you're normal, then give me your hometown, I'd like to move there.

Better than the opposite though, 17 Hz at 140 db can cause involuntary bowel contraction, and make the unlucky victim soil their garment...

[michellem99-2009]

This is dumb. To say that their headphones annoy ohters is like having yer cake and eating it too.
I use a white cane and have to tap it to see and will as I have to. So don't ever tell a blind person not to as you just may have to in future. People are not happy unless they are complaining..Their wearing things in their ears. Nosise pollution..Years ago,when I worked nobody whined about the noise. It was THERE. We did not whine. I think people have to just stop whining. People are more annoying when not wearing their headphones to listen their muuic. You make more noise in the home. People are annoying with their car alarms over ipods.

[mizpah63]

Earplugs! Soft, foam, inexpensive, disposable, easily inserted, highly effective - earplugs. Don't leave home without them.

[grammawhamma]

Second hand noise will soon be found to be hazardous to your health. It will eventually be banned in all public places and you will find the "abusers" huddled in the doorways listening to their iPods. Yet people will still complain because they have to run past those abusers in the doorway, covering their ears so their hearing doesn't get damaged. The taxes on music will skyrocket so the abusers can't afford this noise anymore.

[michellem99-2009]

I don't have an i pod.I am listening to a Pink Flyod song on headphones at the level that I can hear and that may not be quiet but I am in my room door shut. I am hearing impaired. My room mate can hear the music on the bus from others ipods/cd players. I hate the quiet cars. I am a legally blind person. It is daily living noise. I am not trying to be a smart arse. I am 52. I DO TRY TO THINK OF OTHERS..DO THEY...No. I call it white noise. There is a means where one don't hear it -sealed around the ear headphones if there is such a thing. I don't listen to my music in public as I can't hear it if it is playrd lower plus at home I can. I love to play songs I like and he can't hear it. No big deal..That's life..and we live in apt so I perfer to listen on headphones ..I DON'T ANNOY OTHERS...what did you say...Sorry I can't hear soft voices...

[thomderr]

One cure for person that insists on singing with headphones on (of any type).... Record Them!

I did this twelve years ago, with my now 33 year-old daughter and she still remembers how stupid she sounded! Of course, you can only do this successfully with family or co-workers, but it's worth a try now that many cell phones have a voice record option.

[nothappyatall]

"s the man seated beside him on the plane blasted techno music on his iPod at full volume. "

Don't worry, listening to that level of music will soon destroy the wearer's hearing.