The sounds of summer can be deafening in NJ. What you can do about noise pollution

"Oh, the noise! Oh the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!"

Sound familiar? Maybe a bit like you — when you're being victimized by lawnmowers, leaf blowers, weed-whackers, commercial jets, low-flying helicopters, raucous backyard barbecues, revving motorcycles, car horns, and passing monster trucks with 2,000-watt subwoofers?

Actually it's The Grinch — the very soul of irritability. If there's one thing he loathes more than Christmas, it's a racket.

"That's one thing he hated," we read in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!"

Of course, Dr. Seuss doesn't say so. But we're guessing that The Grinch lives somewhere along the Route 95 corridor, on the Newark-Liberty International Airport flight path.

Noise pollution is just one of the things that we folks in the built-up areas — urbanites and suburbanites alike — have mostly given up on.

There are just so many noises! And they keep inventing new ones! Beepers, for backing trucks! Car alarms, which won't stop blaring! The piercing, tinkly tunes played by the ice cream man! It never ends.

It's a trade-off, of course. Part of what you get for living in a world of convenience — a world of cars and labor-saving machines and reproduceable sound. But is it time to reconsider that bargain?

Continual loud noise has been linked to mental conditions, like depression. Not to mention physical conditions, like tinnitus.

It's also been linked to class inequities — it's the poorest people, on the meanest streets, who get the worst of it.

In the 19th century, tanbark was laid down on the streets in front of millionaires' homes, so that traffic noise would not disturb their moneyed slumber. When the famed actress (and insomniac) Mrs. Patrick Campbell came to New York in 1914, the city went further. Not only was the entire length of 43rd Street outside her hotel covered with the mulchy mixture, but streetcars were ordered to slow down and silence their bells, newsboys were told to stop shouting, policemen wore rubber soles, organ-grinders were sent to the next block, and, according to The New York Times, "bartenders were persuaded to use a specially muffled ice when shaking their cocktails."

Most of us, of course, don't get this kind of treatment. The best we can do is yell at our neighbors. Or call the cops. Or get a set of earplugs.

Like air pollution and light pollution, noise pollution is often classed as a nuisance rather than an emergency. But perhaps it's time to look more deeply.

With this series of stories, The Record and NorthJersey.com is looking at noise as a quality-of-life issue that affects not just our sleep, but our well-being on every level. We're looking at the noisiest cities, the loudest streets, the most high-decibel appliances. We'll look at why they are what they are — and what you can do about them.

We also acknowledge that there are some sounds of summer that soothe. So, too, do we have odes to the summer symphony: the gentle lull of the ocean's wave, the crack of a bat on a baseball, the crickets chirping on a humid evening.

So we invite you to find a quiet spot to immerse yourself in suburban sounds — the good, the bad and the noisy.

This survey ranked the noisiest cities in the country. Two of them are ours

New York City, Jersey City and Newark are three of the top 50 cities with the worst noise pollution problems in the country, according to a report by Steel Guard Safety, a manufacturer of noise control products. While the abundance of noise is accepted as part of big-city living, it does come with a cost: mental health.

Can something be done to curb leaf blowers? One NJ assemblywoman is trying

You can't talk suburban noise without talking leaf blowers. The leaf blower was invented as far back as 1947. But in some New Jersey communities, it is now public nuisance No. 1. Find out what one woman is trying to do to stop it.

How constant noise causes hearing loss, stress and possibly dementia in crowded NJ

Noise pollution is linked to a gamut of health effects. Much of it is centered around damage and hearing loss, often experienced by those who work eight hours a day surrounded by loud noise, whether in a factory or at an airport. What is the true price we'll have to pay?

The flight path to and from Teterboro is unrelenting. What local neighbors are trying do

Teterboro in Bergen County is the busiest private airport in the nation by far, with nearly 182,000 private aircraft having flown in and out in the past year. What does that mean for residents? Not a lot of peace and quiet.

Coming Monday.

Noisy neighbors on the block? Here are some avenues to explore

One North Jersey town has an ordinance that prohibits "yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets." What else can you do to protect yourself from the neighbor like that guy blasting 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P." in "Anatomy of a Fall?"

Are AirPods bad for your hearing? NJ experts share headphone, earbud safety tips

Headphones and earbuds have become ubiquitous since Apple’s AirPods hit the shelves in 2016. They’re nearly as essential as smartphones. But there's been a growing buzz about their impact on ears. Cranking them up may be doing more harm than people realize, experts say.

Symphony of Summer: The sounds that define a Garden State summer

Summer. We enjoy it for three months a year, and most of us spend the other nine months longing for it — longing for the warm nights, the long days. The sounds. The season is so full of life. It's impossible to go any waking moment without your ears filled with vibrant sounds of summer. Listen to it here.

Stop the madness! These are the most annoying sounds of summer

Trucks downshifting on a highway, mockingbirds at 4 a.m., babies crying, leaf blowers, lawnmowers — we list them so you don't have to.

You've heard of white noise. What about pink noise?

In a world of cacophony, it may be too much to ask for silence. Even that, as Simon and Garfunkel warned us, has sounds. So what do you do? Counteract sound with sound. Set a noise to catch a noise. That's the principle behind "sound masking" or "sound cancellation," which many of us know as "white noise." You may have heard that there is also "brown noise," "pink noise," "blue noise," "violet noise" and "green noise." Here's everything you need to know.

Not all sounds are natural! Audiobooks are one of summer's greatest pleasures

There's nothing like a stirring sea adventure, a steamy romance, a tale of international intrigue, or a bit of apocalyptic sci-fi to make you forget that you're in a traffic jam at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, being honked at by drivers who seem not to have grasped the elemental fact that there is a car in front of you. Put on your headphones: Here are some of Audible's recommended titles for summer 2024.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What you can do about noise pollution in NJ