“Loud Pipes Save Lives” Don’t fool yourself. Loud pipes lose rights. Loud pipes affect your neighbors, children and horses. And civic leaders and lawmakers. Unless you back up a lot, they don’t save lives either. But that’s another topic. Other sources of loud noise affect riders too.

NOISE - INDUCED TINNITUS
Tinnitus, a ringing or other noise in the ears or head, is most often a subjective experience. It can be intermittent or constant; mildly annoying or, for some, very distressing. Although the exact cause of tinnitus is unknown, ...excessive noise exposure is by far the most probable cause of tinnitus. ... Tinnitus, as a result of noise exposure, can occur suddenly or very gradually. When it occurs suddenly, it is often perceived at a fairly loud volume and may persist at that level permanently. However, for some, the tinnitus is temporary and does not return. More commonly, the onset of noise-induced tinnitus is gradual and intermittent in its early stages. Patients report hearing a mild form of tinnitus for a short period of time following a lengthy exposure to loud sounds. Once the patient is removed from the noise source, the tinnitus soon disappears and is inaudible until the next exposure. This intermittent pattern often continues for months or years with the periods of tinnitus becoming longer and longer. Eventually the tinnitus is constant. If exposure to the offending noise continues, the tinnitus often increases in volume.

NOISE-INDUCED HEARING LOSS
Continuous exposure to high levels of noise can cause hearing impairment ...OSHA established standards that indicate how much sound an average person should be able to tolerate without experiencing hearing damage.

Many sounds in our environment exceed the OSHA standards. Continuous exposure to these sounds could cause hearing damage.

Noise-induced hearing loss is probably the most well-defined of the effects of noise. Predictions of hearing loss from various levels of continuous and varying noise have been extensively researched and are no longer controversial…

Patients who have hearing loss, and who have a long history of on-the-job noise exposure, typically have a hearing loss in the 3000-6000 Hz frequency range (see Figure 2). In the early stages of excessive noise exposure, a temporary loss might be observed at the end of a work shift. Normal hearing usually returns after several hours. Continuous exposure to the noise, however, often results in a permanent and progressive hearing loss. In its advanced stages, a loss of hearing in the high frequencies will seriously affect a person's ability to understand normal speech.

The difference in decibel levels in the following chart is greater than one might expect. Loudness doubles with every increase of three dBA. One hundred times more sound energy enters the ear in a 95 dB environment than in a 75 dB environment.

Research suggests that hearing should be protected when average sound exceeds 80 dB. Federal law requires industrial workers to be protected when average daily noise levels rise to 85dB and above. Common sound levels are illustrated below.

In industrial environments, federal law requires that exposure time be reduced if hearing protectors are not used. This is shown in the table below.

Noise is harmful to more than just the auditory system. It can stress the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems as well. Continued exposure to noise can cause headaches, fatigue, and elevated blood pressure.