Ear plugs can not only protect your ears, but also your peace of mind as well! Of course, some people like hustle and bustle, but many others prefer to keep commotion at a minimum. But how about those who react badly to living like sardines in a can?

You get ear plugs, that’s what! They make a great bargain considering what you get: a measure of tranquility. It ain’t just roommates, either, but neighbors – and not just apartment-dwellers but folks who live in houses: such is life in the big city!

So that’s when ear plugs can help. They should be helpful to some degree, if not a perfect final solution. That’s because the ones you’re likely to find are only good for blocking up to 33 dcB of noise, which is about the level of a typical conversation. Those of better quality are not as easy to find and will require a bit of research to procure.

No matter how effective, however, wearing them all the time may be uncomfortable. While many people get used to them, others find the practice increasingly irritable, especially when reusing ear plugs. Of course, they shouldn’t be necessary to being with. Good luck getting anyone in government to care, however. In fact, even in New York City, reputedly the one place in the entire United States with stringent anti-noise laws on the books, enforcement is often wanting due to not enough resources being devoted to the issue, particularly manpower. In fact, while most noise complaints involve residential neighbors, it is precisely this class of disputes that authorities there avoid handling!

Jean-Paul Sartre famously remarked that “hell is other people;” this may explain whyThe Big Apple is so reluctant to intervene between warring neighbors, which is but hell multiplied exponentially! So what, then, does their vaunted noise pollution laws actually do? What is Mayor Bloomberg’s signature 311 civic complaints hotline doing besides simply giving out information?

It seems like most people don’t mind noise. “It is what it is,” and most don’t mind what it is. That’s why it goes on. Mental sanity is not something that’s highly valued; indeed, not many know what true sanity is nor how noise plays an important part in preventing it!