Increase in Ambulances on the Road - Ear Plugs While Riding
04-18-22, 12:15 PM
#51
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04-18-22, 12:17 PM
#52
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I recognize how controversial this is, but I'm against that massive uptick.
If it's really massive, there should be all sorts of articles, etc. about that. Citations?
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04-18-22, 12:22 PM
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04-18-22, 12:27 PM
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04-18-22, 12:38 PM
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04-18-22, 01:14 PM
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IKR
The people bothered by this should try riding a bicycle near Laconia during Bike Week. I've made that mistake a couple times, my ears were ringing for days. It may not hit the high decibels, but it just goes on and on and on and on.
Last one, I tried to have a conversation with another cyclist over coffee at Alton Bay, and we were literally yelling at each other in order to be heard, It was just a constant very loud drone of passing motorcycles.
I got passed by an ambulance last Saturday. The siren gave me about a two block notice to find a gap between parked cars to get off the traffic lane. That notice made it easy-peasy.
04-18-22, 01:26 PM
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The pic was more of a comment on multiple poster's moral outrage and indignation over hypothetical situations, but OK then.
04-18-22, 01:34 PM
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Active in the canal noise cancellation has been around for decades. They are not cheap. They are popular with shooting instructors. They cut loud sound levels by around 25 dba while allowing you to hear conversation. I considered it for my recumbent, the wind noise is really bad on it. I have a behind the ear version for shooting sports but they are too awkward for a bike, I suspect an in the canal version might be the ticket.
This might be an ignorant question, but isn't the fact that it's not in the ear canal the reason they can be selective to let conversational tones in?
04-18-22, 01:55 PM
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I dunno about OP's empirical claim about the number of strokes and heart attacks, but I don't think inquiring what you do about the sound when you encounter it is an unreasonable question. OP was very clear in using the word "inconvenience", which I didn't think exaggerated anything. But yeah, I do find the people who think the sirens need to be turned down are making mountains out of molehills when it comes to their personal "suffering" and I do think that the fat people remark was pretty disgusting. .
04-18-22, 02:21 PM
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Gotta love BF. One person starts an idiotic thread, and suddenly no one will be outdone. It's like watching one-legged men in an ass-kicking contest.
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04-18-22, 02:40 PM
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Okay guys, have fun but avoid any personal insults here.
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04-18-22, 02:48 PM
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In the canal would help secure the electronics.
The sound is sensed and selectively amplified, irrespective of the location of the electronics. With a hearing aid, some frequencies are amplified more than others. With the type of device I mentioned, it filters out really loud (amplitude) sounds and lets other in. I think what is missing is the understanding that these devices are active and not passive. Passive would be like ear plugs. Active uses electronics in combination with active (shooters ear device) although sophisticated ones could use noise cancellation techniques. There are so many different options that I am being very generalized in my comments. It has been decades since I worked in that industry and only casually look at technology (Amazon)
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04-18-22, 06:35 PM
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That's an interesting observation. Maybe some auto insurance companies "suggested" to civic authorities they increase the SPL level of the sirens as an insurance actuary calculated over-precautionary measure to limit claims payouts in the off-chance a siren is not heard.
My original post was not about the presence of sirens on the road, because this is bound to happen in a City this size. I'm speaking of the huge increase in them over the last 18 months. No one is asking why that might be. Guess what - I did. I was riding by a firehall last week, the doors were open and all the trucks were out. Up here, the fire engines go out with an ambulance automatically (= Big $$$ for each call). A paramedic was taking the opportunity to sweep the bays. I rode up and asked him if there was a recent increase in the number of non-fire related calls (majority are like this anyways) and he said yes. He says the "guys go out and in the past they'd be back for a lunch but now they are just working through it. They come back really late.". This increase is universal it seems. The video report in the first post is from Germany. I have heard similar reports from Ireland and the UK. The main cause for these calls is an apparent massive uptick in heart attacks and strokes across all age groups.
My original post was not about the presence of sirens on the road, because this is bound to happen in a City this size. I'm speaking of the huge increase in them over the last 18 months. No one is asking why that might be. Guess what - I did. I was riding by a firehall last week, the doors were open and all the trucks were out. Up here, the fire engines go out with an ambulance automatically (= Big $$$ for each call). A paramedic was taking the opportunity to sweep the bays. I rode up and asked him if there was a recent increase in the number of non-fire related calls (majority are like this anyways) and he said yes. He says the "guys go out and in the past they'd be back for a lunch but now they are just working through it. They come back really late.". This increase is universal it seems. The video report in the first post is from Germany. I have heard similar reports from Ireland and the UK. The main cause for these calls is an apparent massive uptick in heart attacks and strokes across all age groups.
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04-18-22, 10:56 PM
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here's the raw dataset, the 30% statistic is from a news article on the subject, but since nobody trusts anyone anymore, the concerned citizen can download and crunch the data themselves:
https://data.sfgov.org/Public-Safety...vice/nuek-vuh3
04-19-22, 01:17 AM
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https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_los...%20your%20ears.
I honestly think 90dB would be sufficient, but it is what it is. That being said, stopping to put one's hands over their ears for a few seconds is a perfectly reasonable way to deal with it, but I also wouldn't make fun of anyone looking for noise reducing ear plugs.
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04-19-22, 01:21 AM
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See my response to that post. I use ear plugs just like those at work, but their purpose is to reduce all sounds at every frequency level about the same amount, allowing you to hear the balance in the band, so they don't only reduce the loud noises, and they do in fact make it very difficult to hear softer sounds. "Active noise cancelling" plugs, however, would theoretically only kick in when the noise goes above a preset level, but I have never tried them myself since they are extremely expensive, and I have found the attenuated ones discussed above to be adequate for the sounds I'm constantly blasted with.
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Last edited by urbanknight; 04-19-22 at 01:27 AM.
04-19-22, 04:58 AM
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I am not sure I understand the question
In the canal would help secure the electronics.
The sound is sensed and selectively amplified, irrespective of the location of the electronics. With a hearing aid, some frequencies are amplified more than others. With the type of device I mentioned, it filters out really loud (amplitude) sounds and lets other in. I think what is missing is the understanding that these devices are active and not passive. Passive would be like ear plugs. Active uses electronics in combination with active (shooters ear device) although sophisticated ones could use noise cancellation techniques. There are so many different options that I am being very generalized in my comments. It has been decades since I worked in that industry and only casually look at technology (Amazon)
In the canal would help secure the electronics.
The sound is sensed and selectively amplified, irrespective of the location of the electronics. With a hearing aid, some frequencies are amplified more than others. With the type of device I mentioned, it filters out really loud (amplitude) sounds and lets other in. I think what is missing is the understanding that these devices are active and not passive. Passive would be like ear plugs. Active uses electronics in combination with active (shooters ear device) although sophisticated ones could use noise cancellation techniques. There are so many different options that I am being very generalized in my comments. It has been decades since I worked in that industry and only casually look at technology (Amazon)
Thanks! I didn't know about the selective amplification, hence my confusion.
04-19-22, 05:16 AM
#69
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As someone who suffers from tinnitus, a few seconds would be a blessing. Try hearing the sound of two piccolos in your ear 24/7 for decades. Sirens are loud enough to do instant damage if close by.
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_los...%20your%20ears.
I honestly think 90dB would be sufficient, but it is what it is. That being said, stopping to put one's hands over their ears for a few seconds is a perfectly reasonable way to deal with it, but I also wouldn't make fun of anyone looking for noise reducing ear plugs.
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_los...%20your%20ears.
I honestly think 90dB would be sufficient, but it is what it is. That being said, stopping to put one's hands over their ears for a few seconds is a perfectly reasonable way to deal with it, but I also wouldn't make fun of anyone looking for noise reducing ear plugs.
90db is obviously way too low, that's quieter than a motorcycle. Sirens are as loud as they are because they're supposed to give drivers ahead sufficient notice to get out of the way. In a crowded city, that takes some time. They need to be loud enough to be heard at a distance from inside a motor vehicle. The link you provided states that MC engines are 95db (which is a lot louder than 90). When you're driving, how close does the motorcycle need to be before you can hear it inside your car?
I think we have to appreciate that the loudness of sirens is not calibrated for warning cyclists, and look at it as an issue of personal hearing protection if it poses a problem for us. After all, if we get hit by a car, we definitely might need the EMTs to have an effective way to clear the road to get to us.
04-19-22, 05:36 AM
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Our built world is way too effing loud.
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04-19-22, 05:53 AM
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Something like these buds should reduce extremely loud noises while maintaining situational awareness riding in loud urban areas.
https://isotunes.com/products/isotunes-pro-aware
https://isotunes.com/products/isotunes-pro-aware
04-19-22, 06:41 AM
#72
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Hello, there is. I certainly won't post them here though. It is also not a personal responsibility to change another's mind therefore I'll just leave it there.
04-19-22, 06:46 AM
#73
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Are you sure that guy in the firehouse was correct? If its the last 18-24 months I'd wager its actually caused by COVID-19 cases. Heart attacks and strokes just don't suddenly surge in occurance. Your timeframe corresponds to the COVID-19 pandemic surge and includes the time prior to widespread vaccine availability. Just a thought.
04-19-22, 06:55 AM
#74
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What about those who ride their bikes while wearing Airpods or other headphones with music blaring? Less dangerous than earplugs? See it all the time. I'd say more because it divides the attention. Do I chastise those who do it? Not a bit. I can still hear cars with earplugs in without issue and ride with a mirror. In the past, the ambulances were nowhere near as frequent as they are now and this noticeable increase has occurred within a very short timeframe. This is a certainty. That's why it is noticeable.
04-19-22, 06:56 AM
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Part of what the OP is experiencing could be due to changes in traffic flow resulting in more ambulance routes lining up with the OPs cycling routes.
Or changes to the OPs routes or time of day on those routes.
Or changes to the OPs routes or time of day on those routes.