How loud is your neighborhood?—Community Noise

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Nearly everyone has a story about annoying noises—the roommate who plays music at all hours of the night, the would-be dragsters on the freeway nearby, or the airplanes roaring past overhead. Obnoxious sounds can distract us and disrupt the normal balance of our lives. In severe cases, noise can contribute to increased aggression, hypertension, and stress. Long term effects of high levels of noise exposure include hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), sleep disturbance, and increased blood pressure. It ...

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Megaphones: Heard above the Noise

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The megaphone is one of the oldest acoustical devices. People learned early that horn-shaped or cone-shaped tubes could be used to increase the audibility of the human voice. However, it took much longer for humanity to discover exactly how megaphones amplify sound.

A Quick History

Many early civilizations used “speaking horns.” Some Native American leaders used birch bark horns to communicate with large groups. In ancient Greece, actors wore masks with cone-like openings around the mouth which amplified their voices. Many inventors ...

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