You'll be in trouble with the law if you play your music too loudly in
Rochester, New York. Anyone found violating local and state noise ordinances by
means of overly loud ?boom
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boxes, stereos, motorcycles, automobiles or loud
partying will be ticketed.
New York City has also begun to oppose the
bombardment of noise. Its Department of Environmental Protection has a
Quality of Life Hotline. 70% of the calls received concern noise. Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg has established a Council on the Environment. There is
a citywide group (with a somewhat |
unfortunate acronym) called Friends Against Noisy New York. On April 25th,
there were observances of International Noise Awareness Day. The mayor also
established Operation Silent Night, a citywide quality of life initiative to
combat loud and excessive noise in New York City. It's not that the state of New York
is less tolerant than the rest of us. It's that they've realized something a
lot of communities don't know yet.
We all know that we're exposed to
more excessive noise today than at any other time in history. Modern life
can seem like an ongoing struggle to rise above the din. Home life fills our
ears with barking dogs, air conditioning units, televisions, boom boxes and
the kitchen vent-a-hood. When we leave the house or office, we yell to be
heard over construction projects, car alarms, traffic and other people's
music. The list goes on and on. The US Census Bureau has reported that noise
is Americans' top complaint about their neighborhoods and their main reason
for wanting to move.
What New Yorkers have found and the rest of us
need to know is that noise pollution is more than just annoying; It can be
dangerous. One Rochester police officer explains that when blasting music in
neighborhoods goes unchecked, it indicates that respect is not required.
?This type of environment is friendly to other, more serious types of
crimes,? he says. That's why police officers and neighborhood residents have
decided to crack down on excessive noise in their community. Police and
concerned citizens have been walking the streets together, knocking on the
doors of noisy neighbors and warning them about possible fines and legal
action.
Noise is not only a health issue for communities, but also for
individuals. Research has shown dramatic physiological effects from exposure
to excessive noise. In addition to its damage to the ears, Dr. Luther Terry,
former U.S. Surgeon General identifies a host of other negative health
effects due to noise. A partial list includes cardiovascular constriction,
elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, more labored breathing,
measurable changes in skin resistance and skeletal-muscle tension, digestive
system changes, glandular activity that alters the chemical content of blood
and urine, vestibular effects, balance sense effect and changes in brain
chemistry. It bears repeating that this is just a partial list. Terry
details the negative effect of noise on fetal development, as well.
The Surgeon General echoes the voices of many health professionals.
Researchers have found that after extended exposure to high noise such as
aircraft flyovers or workplace noise, blood pressure rises as much as 30%.
Increasing the negative impact is the fact that blood pressure stays at that
elevated level for a significant period after the exposure ends. So if
you're close enough to a landing plane that your blood pressure rises, it
stays up and affects your body long after the airplane noise is gone.
You don't have to live near an airport to be affected by traffic. Even noise
that we might consider moderate has its effect. A German study found that
those living on busy streets were 20% more likely to have a heart attack
than those living on a quiet one.
Studies have also linked learning
problems to noise. It affects the ability of children to learn to speak, to
read, and to acquire knowledge in schools. These effects have been
documented near airports, train tracks and major roadways. The inability to
hear and understand all that a teacher is saying can translate to poor
grades and could even lead to a higher dropout rate in schools.
Moreover, noise pollution has impact on the behavior of both children and
adults. One study looked at how passers-by responded to a person in need in
the presence of noise. While a noisy lawn mower roared nearby, a woman with
a broken arm dropped some books and tried to pick them up. No one stopped to
help her. When the lawnmower was turned off and the scene repeated, several
people stopped to help her retrieve her books.
With all that being
said, it's no wonder that Americans have more problems with sleeping,
concentrating and dealing with stress in our noise-polluted environment.
Fortunately, there is more to sound than the negative effects of noise. The
opposite of noise is music. The ability of music to repair and encourage
health and harmony is as powerful as noise's ability to destroy them. So
powerful, in fact, that there is an entire field called music therapy.
The full benefits of music therapy are still being studied, but we know of
quite a few already. Studies in mental health, for example, have shown that
music therapy is effective in relieving anxiety and stress, promoting
relaxation and treating depression. Music therapy allows people with
emotional problems to explore feelings, make positive changes in mood,
practice problem solving, and resolve conflicts. It has been used
successfully by mental health institutions during group therapy sessions.
The healing effects of music therapy are not limited to mental health. They
have been observed in hospitalized patients with burns, heart disease,
diabetes and cancer. As a complement to rehabilitation care, music therapy
seems to strengthen communication and physical coordination skills, as it
improves the physical and mental functioning of those with neurological
disabilities or developmental disorders. Those with learning, speech and
hearing problems may also find music therapy helpful.
Music therapy
reduces the need for medication during childbirth and complements the use of
anesthesia during surgery and dental work, especially when children undergo
medical and surgical procedures. It is useful in newborn care of premature
infants. Aside from these acute situations, music therapy helps ease chronic
pain.
Music therapy can also improve the quality of life of terminally
ill patients and enhance the well-being of the elderly, including those
suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. It has been
used to complement the treatment of AIDS, stroke, Parkinson's and cancer. At
the same time, music therapy is useful in the support of the families and
caregivers of such patients.
Most of the reviews published on the
subject have been published by the American Music Therapy Association. The
broad applications of this tool warrant more formal reviews. We still don't
know just how many conditions could be helped by music therapy. Still,
changes are that you could enhance your mental and physical health with
music therapy.
If you consult a music therapist for a particular
condition, the therapist will first talk to you about your symptoms and
needs. In addition, the therapist will assess your emotional well-being,
physical health, social functioning, communication abilities and cognitive
skills. Using this information, your therapist will design an appropriate
treatment plan that would probably include playing and listening to music,
analyzing lyrics, composing songs, improvising and/or using rhythmic
movement.
During your regular sessions, the therapist may participate
in these activities with you or simply guide you. You may also be encouraged
to talk about the images or feelings that are evoked by the music. You and
your therapist will select the music used for your therapy according to your
needs and tastes. You can choose any kind of music, from classical or new
age to jazz or rock. You do not need previous musical experience nor any
musical ability to benefit from music therapy.
Some music therapy is
conducted in a group setting. You might perform music with others who have
the same condition as you, or you may just interact and relax with others as
music plays in the background. If you are in the hospital for surgery or to
give birth, your music therapy might simply entail listening to your
favorite songs to help you relax and reduce pain.
As you may have
guessed by now, the presence of a professional is not always required in
music therapy, though you may need help in getting started. Westerners are
only beginning to use music as medicine, though it has long been used
successfully in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. To encourage you to
create your own music therapy sessions, I will share with you the basics of
my own brand of music therapy. Take what you like and leave the rest.
When I practice music therapy, especially for relaxation, the first thing I
do is to find a calming environment, where I won't be disturbed or
interrupted. Next, I light incense or a scented candle, as I find that
aromatherapy helps to calm my body.
Next, I choose the music, which
becomes easier the more you learn about your body's response to different
kinds of music. I then sit on the floor, in an upright position with my legs
crossed. I breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling very slowly through my
nose.
As the music plays, I listen intently to the instruments as if
the players were right there in the room playing to me. Often I position
myself directly in front of the speaker, so I can feel the vibrations as
well as hear the music being played. Some people use headphones. This is
fine, but I recommend you feel the sound coming into your body, and not just
into your head.
Visualize the sound waves coming from the speakers and
going through you. Not only should you position yourself physically to catch
the sound energy in your body, but you should also focus your mind. Focus on
where you want the healing vibrations to go. Listen as you visualize the
sound waves beaming through your body and replenishing your cells, tissues,
and internal organs.
As you practice music therapy you will develop
the method that works best for you. Once you know how your body responds to
certain instruments, timbres, and musical styles, you can design sessions in
the sequence you find most beneficial to you.
Ideally, you practice
music therapy for at least 30 minutes to an hour per day, although even a
20-minute daily session would yield positive results. It can take 10 minutes
just for your mind to unwind, so I recommend 30-40 minute sessions.
Those are the basics. As you can gather from all of the above, music therapy
can be as involved or as simple as the situation warrants. The main thing is
just to get started. In this world of noise pollution, practicing music
therapy may well be the way to start your own peaceful revolution!
References:
American Academy of Audiology (Consumer guides)
World Council on Hearing Health (In the news)
Friends Against Noisy New York (2005 Newsletter) National Campaign for
Hearing Health
Sam Pasco is founder and director of
http://www.InnerHealingMusic.com. He is also a Practitioner of music
therapy, as well as a Composer and Performer who has performed at some
of the largest health and wellness expos in the US. He frequently leads
workshops on the vast benefits of music as therapy. | |
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