Leaf Blowers, Lawn Mowers and Things That Cause Hearing Loss

On any given Saturday in my neighborhood in Crabapple, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, chippers, and motorcycles are all going.  Add to this the noise of nearby construction on Broadwell Road and I'm over it.  I figure there is nothing I can do about my neighbors loving power equipment but the bull-dozers on Broadwell drove me to send an inquiry to George Gordon, the Director of Public Safety for the city of Alpharetta.  Mr. Gordon informed me that construction and demolition crews can operate their equipment from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.  So, there it is.  This is the price nearby neighbors pay for new development in Alpharetta.  Hopefully it will be over soon. 

Unfortunately, I am no stranger to power equipment.  On any given workday you will find me operating heavy equipment at my job.  Much as I’d love to spend my days playing with flowers, in fact, I am trained to (and do) operate tractors, lifts, big tillers, small tillers, leaf blowers and if I wanted to – chain saws.  I haven’t had my chain saw training yet so I’m holding off on that one.  It is unglamorous, hot, dangerous and definitely noisy work.  At no point am I or anyone on my staff allowed to operate a leaf blower or tiller or chain saw without wearing good quality hearing protection.  The reason?  The sound of a chainsaw is around 100 decibels.  The sound of a leaf blower is around 90-100 decibels.  And prolonged exposure to any sound above 85 decibels causes gradual hearing loss. 

Let me go on.  Lawn mowers are around 90 decibels. A motorcycle comes in at around 95 decibels on average.  And the one-time explosive sounds of firecrackers, which can cause sudden, as opposed to gradual, hearing loss are around 150 decibels. 

All these things damage our hair cells, which are sensitive structures in our inner ear.  Once damaged, they cannot grow back.

My neighborhood has become a hotbed of noisy power equipment which drives me crazy.  Personally, I’d rather not hear any loud noises after 5:00 p.m. on a weekday or at ANY time on the weekend, but that’s just me.  I’ve got this thing about peace and quiet.  And if more people raked and mulched their leaves, I think the world would be a better place.  But, if folks are going to use power equipment, I just hope they will at least have regard for their own ears.  Wear hearing protection!