Arai na? What’s that? Speak up, honey, I can’t hear a WORD you’re saying over the sound of the jackhammer/circular saw/airplane/CD vendor/California Wow! salesgirl/Christmas music/old lady yelling into her mobile phone/roadside karaoke machine/permagrinned mall presenter /racing motorcycles/car horn/reverse alert/muffleless klong boat /backfiring tuk tuk /outdoor aerobics class!

It doesn’t take long to hear that Bangkok is one noisy city. For some tourists coming into town, it’s one of the first observations they make. In his 2004 birthday speech, H.M. the King himself expressed worry about the danger of premature hearing loss among Thai youth who frequent loud nightclubs. More recently, a whole slew of complaints have slid across the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s desk as a result of the airport opening in a previously residential area. But even if you don’t live near the airport or you don’t go out to noisy nightclubs, your hearing is still at risk, and more immediately, so is your peace of mind.

Hear Are the Facts

There are basically three thresholds you should be aware of in order to understand safety in terms of hearing. The Threshold of Hearing is the point at which the ear actually perceives sound. This is relative to each person and also differs by the sexes, but in general, the Threshold for Hearing is said to be 0 decibels (dB). The second marker is the Threshold of Pain—this is the intensity of sound at which pain is actually felt in the eardrum, and occurs at approximately 115-140dB. A sound at this level can cause immediate damage. The third and most important threshold is where sound is viewed as being “excessive,” and is usually judged to be about 85 decibels. If you hear a noise at 85dB or louder for an extensive period of time, it will cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. Prolonged exposure to loud noises can also lead to a condition called tinnitus, which fills all silences with a ringing sound in its sufferers, and makes loud noises painful to endure. In addition, you may be forced to say, “What? Can you say that again, please?” to nearly everyone, which is annoying. Your friends will stop calling you because nobody likes a broken record, and you’ll become a social outcast.

How long will it take for this damage to occur? It depends on how loud the noise is. “The safety level should be no higher than 80dB for less than six hours,” says Dr. Polporn Apiwattanasawee, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) at Vajira Hospital. “According to the law, 90dB is considered dangerous and should be limited to less than four hours.”

As Dr. Polporn implies, the louder a noise is, the less time it takes to damage your hearing. Students at schools and residents of housing estates near the new airport (Bangkok’s Lat Krabang, Minburi and Nong Chok as well as Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli) found out about this statistic recently, where noise from planes taking off and landing has been a major source of noise pollution. Schools in Lat Krabang, that were recently awarded grants from the BMA to install noise-absorbing materials­, were suffering from noise levels of 90-100dB. Ouch.

Big City Life

Even if you don’t live or work near the airport, loud noises in everyday life put hearing and health at risk. Taking a stroll down the street with a noise meter reveals that, surprise, surprise, most Bangkok city sounds are in fact louder than 85dB. In fact, roads with traffic on them clock in fairly high. According to the Pollution Control Department, which monitors noise levels daily on its website (http://gendb.pcd.go.th/NOISE/en_noiselevel.asp), Lad Prao can go as high as 89dB, Huay Kwang 86dB and Din Daeng 83dB. Therefore, the people who work on the street (street vendors, traffic cops, drivers), as well as those in noisy places of work without proper ear protection (construction workers), are at serious risk of hearing loss, tinnitus and a bad social life.

A Public Health Ministry survey of over one thousand clubs and bars in Bangkok found that the noise intensity at more than 33 percent of them was over the recommended 91dB; with some reaching dangerously into the pain threshold—up to 144dB.

“Hearing loss usually happens with people in their 40s and 50s,” says Dr. Polporn. “However, it is getting more common for younger people to experience the first signs of this problem. The youngest person with a hearing loss problem I have examined is in his early 30s.”

Increase the Peace (and Quiet)

About eight months ago, Panchalie Sathirasas, a Bangkok artisan suffering from tinnitus, made a statement against noise pollution and formed the People Who Love Quiet Club. On June 21, 2006, The Nation ran a story on the club and Panchalie’s fight against the noise commuters had to deal with, specifically targetting the introduction of loud speakers on BTS trains and in stations, running an endless stream of repetitive advertisements. The reaction to this article in terms of letters to the newpaper and on the web has been overwhelmingly positive. One angry letter currently on The Nation’s website (www.nationmultimedia.com) states, “Several colleagues and I have registered at least 50 complaints over the past months [to Bangkok Mass Transit System], to no avail. Somebody is getting rich at the expense of our right to peace and quiet…” Another Bangkokian has dedicated an entire blog to listing the aural crimes committted in town. Quiet Bangkok (www.quietbangkok.blogspot.com) includes contact info for registering complaints regarding noise levels on the BTS, places to buy noise meters and also has suggestions for living a quieter life.

All this goes to show that though not much is heard about noise related infractions in the media, Panchalie is not the only Bangkokian suffering in silence.

Now Hear This

The World Health Organization reports that sounds above 80 decibels have the potential to make people more aggressive and can cause emotional disturbances. They also mention some evidence that noise pollution could contribute to cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and heart disease (www.wma.net/e/policy/n3.htm). When you stop and think about it though, you really don’t need an international body of physicians to inform you of the dangers of noise pollution. Just think about your everyday life. You get up to the sound of barking dogs, go outside and get run over by the traffic sounds, get on a train or a bus and hear advertisements luring you to visit Singapore, go to lunch and hear some kind of mind-debilitating music in the restaurant, then go outside and hear some presenter yelling about a promotional offer and on and on…. What does this do to your focus and sanity? Where is the peace?

The only people who can do anything about noise pollution in Bangkok are those who are affected by it. If an establishment is playing music or announcements too loud, go and tell them that! If someone has his or her stereo turned up so high that it’s bothering you, do something about it. For every one person who notices and says something about a noise pollution issue, there are at least 10 others who have noticed the same thing but said nothing.

If you are working in an environment that is unsafe for your hearing, contact the Thai Department of Labor Protection and Welfare (www.labour.go.th/index.jsp) or the Pollution Control Department (www.pcd.go.th). The police can stop construction sites from working outside their normal hours, too.

Get out there and fight for your right to quiet!

Bangkok Bedlam

Simply put, Bangkok is a symphony of chaos. Some city sounds are music to our ears, while others make us wish we didn’t have ears. Like them or not, they all make up the soundtrack to our lives. We decided to rate a few of the most memorable ones in a new musical scale we like to call…The Annoying Scale.

1 Utter Serenity - 3 Hurts So Good - 5 Umm, Can You Please Stop That? - 7 You! Out of Here! Now - 10 Jesus H. Christ!!

Enjoy the Silence

Want to escape the cacaphony? Here are a some ideas for places you can go to get some peace and quiet.

Miscellaneous Quiet Places

• Thailand Book Tower (122 Sathorn Soi 12, Sathorn North Rd., Silom, Bangrak, 02-236-7575. Open 10am-9pm. www.thailandbooktower.com)—Become a member and you can enjoy nine floors of books, music, movies and quiet.

• Thailand Creative and Design Center (6/F, The Emporium, 02-664-8448. Open Tues-Sun 10:30am-9pm. BTS Phrom Phong. www.tcdc.or.th)—Nice and quiet most of the time, except when the music is turned up too loud or the occasional jazz band plays on the weekend. Quiet areas for both members and non-members available.

• Art Galleries—Lucky for you, art means quiet when it’s in a gallery. Try the new Whitespace Gallery (2-4/F Lido Theater, Siam Square Soi 3, Rama 1 Rd., 02-252-2900. Open Tue-Sun noon-8pm. BTS Siam. www.whitespaceasia.com) or Grusenmayer Gallery (OP Place, Suite 225 [next to Oriental Hotel], 30/1 Charoen Krung Rd., 02-266-4344).

• Siam Society (131 Soi Asoke, 02-661-6470-7. Open Tue-Sat 9am-5pm. www.siam-society.org)—Aside from hosting lectures, performances and seminars, the Siam Society also has a nice quiet library with manuscripts, rare books, photos, videos and maps.

• House RCA (3 FL, New Petchaburi Road, Huay Kwang, 0-2641-5177-8. www.houserama.com)—Cool movie theater with quiet coffee shop out front.

Quiet Bars

• Bacchus (20/6-7 The Ruam Rudee Village, Pathumwan, 02 650 8986. Open 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-1am. BTS Ploenchit. www.bacchus.tv)—Nice wine bar that doesn’t get too loud.

• Indy Tree Bar by the Story (44/4 Cheua Plerng Rd., under Rama 4 Expressway, 02-249-0222. Open daily 6pm-1am)—Fairly quiet place that offers three private KTV rooms, an airy alfresco area and a mellow live band.

• Phranakorn Bar (58/2 Soi Damnoenklang Tai, 02-622-0282. Open daily 6pm-1am)—Artsy venue featuring two floors and a rooftop bar is far quieter and more peaceful than any of the places on the rabble rousing Khao San, just a few blocks away.

• Threesixty (32F, Millennium Hilton, 123 Charoennakorn Rd., Klongsan, 02-442-2000. Open daily 5pm-1am. www.hilton.com)—Aside from the jazz singer and accompanist, this bar with panoramic views from the other side of Chaophraya River is spookily quiet.

• Hu’u Bar (The Ascott, 187 South Sathorn Rd., Yannawa, 02-676-6673. www.huuinasia.com)—Weekdays, this upmarket drinkery on the ground floor of the Ascott is comfortably quiet, especially in the second floor restaurant/gallery.

For more quiet bars, click here.

Quiet Restaurants

• China House (The Oriental Bangkok, 48 Oriental Avenue, 02-659-9000 ext. 7650. Open daily 11:30am-2:30pm, 7-10:30pm)—Pricy but delightfully charming, romantic and quiet.

• Tamarind Café (27 Sukhumvit Soi 20, 02-663-7421. Open Mon-Fri 3pm-midnight, Sat-Sun 10am-midnight)—As long as it’s not too hot, the roof of this vegetarian hang out is pretty, quiet and relaxing. Free wifi, too.

• Plaa Dib (1/1 Areesamphan Soi 7, Phaholyothin. 02-279-8185. Open Tue-Sun 11am-2pm and 6pm-midnight)—Nice mix of Western, Japanese and Thai food. Quiet during the week, but things could get lively with DJs, art exhibitions and occasional concerts on the weekends.

• Glow (2/F, The Metropolitan, 27 South Sathorn Rd., 02-625-3333. Open daily 6am-9pm)—Quiet, organic restaurant whose food acts like a karmic toothbrush cleaning your body and soul.

Quiet Parks

• Suan Luang Rama 9 (Sukhumvit Soi 103, Pravet, 02-328-1395. Open daily 6am-6pm)—Remote, vast, and quiet, this could be the best park to be outdoors and listen to the sound of silence.

• Benjakiti Park (Old Tobacco Monopoly, next to QSNCC, 02-278-2426. Open daily 5am-8pm)—Clean, big and still somewhat undiscovered, there’s always some part of this park that allows you some quiet reading time.

• Lumpini Park (Rama 4 Rd., Pathumwan, 02-252-8035. Open daily 4:30am-8pm)—Though it is occasionally racked with boisterous demonstrators and aerobics fanatics, this park is large enough to have quiet pockets at all hours of the day and early evening. You just might have to walk a bit to find them.

• Chuwit Park (Sukhumit Rd. between Soi 8 and 10, Nana. Open 7am-7pm)—This park in the heart of the city may not seem too quiet from the outside, but it actually provides quite a nice retreat once you get inside. Thanks, Uncle Chewy.

• Santi Chai Prakarn (Phra Artit, 02-225-7612. Open 24/7)—Good place to hang out on the weekdays, but on weekends this park can be filled with screaming little kids and hippies.