Tammy

Re: Noise of New York.

Welcome to New York. It does not get any better. I almost dont want to leave Joisey because it is so blessedly quiet in comparison.

Someone once romantically called the constant background rumble as the "heartbeat of New York". Feh.

I used to have an office on the FOURTEENTH floor by Wall Street, and people on the phone - the ones not from New York - would wonder why there were constantly sirens and horns all the way up high.

I lived on a QUIET street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. See above about sirens and horns. It was only relatively quiet because they would pass by every.. oh.. 15 minutes instead of 2....

Solution. It may sound un-necessary (and it'll feel like youre wimping out compared to the toughened natives), but it helps your mental health and temperament wonderfully.

It took me 3 years before I clocked onto this....

Earplugs. Swimmers earplugs. The local Duane Reade and CVS pharmacies keep them in stock for a reason.

They block out most harmful frequencies while allowing you to hear (so you wont get blindsided by a cab..)

Wear them to bed and on the subway.

(You see a not-so-surprising amount of folk wearing them underground..)

They positively-a-fuckinglutely work. Even if you dont use them constantly.

Or be stubborn and find out what noise pollution and the constant ringing in yer ears is all about, k? :-)
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