Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D. Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., is currently the Chairperson of the New York City Council on the Environment. There are noise codes limiting noises to certain hours or to certain levels. Apartment dwellings have house rules protecting the residents.
Health clubs have policies urging their instructors to keep the music lower.
It is true that individuals respond to the same level of noise in different ways, with some people very bothered, others slightly, and still others not at all. There is a also a difference in reaction depending on whether the noise occurs occasionally or whether it is a nightly occurrence, with more people tolerant of an occasional noise and fewer willing to tolerate noises that continue unabated, night after night. However, in trying to get an estimate of how many people are actually bothered by specific noises, researchers have generally concluded that these figures are difficult to ascertain because too few people, whatever the reason, complain about surrounding noises. This lack of sufficient data on the numbers of people actually disturbed by community noises has been a problem for psychologists who need these data to predict annoyance levels. More importantly, it indicates that the federal government, and local governments as well, have set policies regarding noise levels and their impacts on individuals without supportive data.