Who owns noise?
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Photo Credit: Egor Komarov
Who owns noise? According to a thoughtful essay in Forbes magazine recently, contributor Bill Schiffmiller states that nobody owns noise. Schiffmiller is a lifelong hearing aid user, who worked for Apple leading accessibility initiatives at its retail stores and now has a consulting group helping companies and other organizations address the impact of noise on health, performance, and business outcomes.
Schiffmiller’s essay was sparked by Quiet Communities, Inc.’s recent victory in federal court requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to fulfill its congressionally mandated duty to regulate noise. Schiffmiller states, “Government is not designed to solve a problem quite like noise. Not because of incompetence or indifference, but because of the nature of the problem itself. Noise has no single source, no single owner, and no obvious boundary separating one jurisdiction from another. It slips between agencies, industries, buildings, products, and public spaces. Historically, these are exactly the kinds of challenges regulation struggles to solve, and exactly the kinds of challenges businesses, designers, innovators, and subject matter experts are uniquely positioned to rethink.”
I disagree. It’s clear from the law that the EPA’s Office of Noise Abatement and Control owns noise. I would even boldly claim that Quiet Communities, the parent organization of The Quiet Coalition, now to a large extent owns the national discussion about noise. This leadership is shown by the court case and by Quiet Communities’ founder and president Jamie Banks’ recent appearance on NBC News to discuss data center noise. And while it may be difficult to regulate noise, it is not impossible. The European Commission requires noise labeling of consumer products and European countries are trying to reduce transportation noise exposure in accordance with its Environmental Noise Directive. Some have also established regulations for noise levels in dance clubs and at musical events. We can certainly take similar actions to regulate noise in the United States, with the re-activation of the federal noise control program being a good start.
I do agree with some points that Schiffmiller goes on to make, including that controlling and reducing noise represents an opportunity for the business community. The best example may be quieter dishwashers. When a German manufacturer made a quieter dishwasher, it rapidly stole market share from American appliance manufacturers. If someone is able to make quieter vacuum cleaners, blenders, hair dryers, power tools, or vehicles with quieter cabins, they will probably be able to increase their market share, too.
People value quiet. A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all.
