High pitched noise on O Connell street

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Howdy,

Being having an annoying issue with a place on O Connell street

It's either Funland Palace or the Londis next door to it or the cafe on the other side

But the issue is one of these places has installed one of those high pitched noise frequency devices to keep people away, only thing is most people I talk to can hear it (all above 25)

Its very annoying when walking past and having ears hurt from it.

Are these illegal to have ? Is there anything that can be done about it ?

I shot of an Email to Dublin city council under noise pollution but i don't know how that will go

Any opinions / advice appreciated !

RosieJoe

Walked past there the other day and never noticed. Only high pitched noise I heard was some one selling "straaawbreeeeezzzzzzzz!!"

January

Stood waiting for a bus there today and heard nothing. And I'm above 25

Esel

RosieJoe wrote: »

Walked past there the other day and never noticed. Only high pitched noise I heard was some one selling "straaawbreeeeezzzzzzzz!!"

"Eeeeeeehhhh, ya got fifty cents, Bud?"

me_irl

Ah, the "mosquito noise"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mosquito#Legal_status

Under Ireland's Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, anyone who "directly or indirectly applies force to or causes an impact on the body of another... without the consent of the other" (force including "application of [any] form of energy"), is guilty of committing assault. This issue has been raised in relation to the Mosquito device by Ireland's Ombudsman for Children following legal advice provided by Youth Work Ireland,[38] but has yet to be tested in the Irish courts.

I suppose the same argument could be applied to ambulance sirens, that are quite sore on the ears but pass by fast (thanks Doppler Effect!). So, in essence you are the object that's moving in this scenario.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Strange not all can hear it, like i say I'm above 25 and can hear it and it's fierce annoying. Very irritating on the ear.

I got a response from DCC earlier asking for the exact address so they can send an eviromental officer to investigate the issue. Hopefully they find it and something will come of it.

Without piss taking about junkies etc I think this is a serious enough issue, I work in Dublin city and walk past here and even stand here for a period of time waiting for vehicles etc and it's very bad in the head so would like to see some action taken.

Peregrine

Yeah, I heard it near Funderland. I was wondering what it was. It's very annoying.

me_irl

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

Strange not all can hear it, like i say I'm above 25 and can hear it and it's fierce annoying. Very irritating on the ear.

http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2011/06/mosquito-ringtones/

^ I'm under 35 and I can't hear the "39 and younger" 15kHz frequency! I blame my lack of foresight (well, now hindsight) to wear earplugs at all the metal gigs I've attended.

I actually use the 8kHz frequency as my alarm tone... because I hate myself. :pac:

Arcade_Tryer

Have heard a similar type of noise in a housing estate before. Sounds like coins rattling in your pocket, except more high pitched. Not only incredibly annoying, but quite unsettling too. Still regret not phoning the Guards to report the owner of the property.

Dramatik

It's been going off for ages, thought it was just some dodgy alarm that was broken but soon realised it was an device to stop people hanging around there. Some people seem oblivious to it but I have sensitive hearing (have done sine wave tests in professional environment) and have to block my ears when walking past, it is extremely uncomfortable to me. For anyone wondering what it sounds like:

JaMarcusHustle

me_irl wrote:

^ I'm under 35 and I can't hear the "39 and younger" 15kHz frequency! I blame my lack of foresight (well, now hindsight) to wear earplugs at all the metal gigs I've attended.

I just turned 30 and I can't hear the 50 and Younger on.

Should this be a cause for concern?

spurious

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

I just turned 30 and I can't hear the 50 and Younger on.

Should this be a cause for concern?

At 30, I would get that checked, yes.
A proper test will be much more accurate than an internet page.
Is there any reason you might have lost some hearing? Loud headphones, working with loud machinery etc.?

JaMarcusHustle

spurious wrote:

At 30, I would get that checked, yes. A proper test will be much more accurate than an internet page. Is there any reason you might have lost some hearing? Loud headphones, working with loud machinery etc.?

No machinery, but I do listen to music on my headphones a lot on full volume. Though the volume on my phone is never usually that high anyway, which is why I turn it up to the last. I often fall asleep with headphones on, but not full volume at night.

2Mad2BeMad

I can hear it, but honestly can say I probably wouldn't notice it unless I forced myself too.
Hell I probably have noticed it before but didn't think about it and just continued on with what I was doing.

I have a feeling its to stop anti social behavior and to stop homeless and junkies camping outside

Ben D Bus

I've just walked past and I can hear it when I'm right outside the door.

And I'm almost 50!

GLaDOS

I noticed it myself while waiting for the 40 bus recently. It's pretty piercing!

January

My daughter has Sensory Processing disorder and we had a recent visit to Temple St, afterwards I brought her to the McD's on O'Connell st for a treat for being good and she was going crazy (fidgetting, covering her ears, couldn't stay still), she said her ears were hurting her. Forgot all about it until reading this again.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Just went past it again myself 5 mins ago

Clearly still an issue, how do people about complaining further or getting action taken.

Sorry to hear about your daughter suffering with that, definitely not on !

L1011

I'd imagine that there could be grounds to claim assault or injury from these things. They are likely over legal limits for sound and you can clearly detect high frequencies on professional sound measuring gear

Many years ago I dumped a transaction at the counter in a shop when it became clear they used one of these. Got too old to hear them now

r93kaey5p2izun

I walked past here on Saturday evening and found this very irritating. I'm in my 30s so assume it's even worse for younger people. I was going to buy a drink in the Londis there but went elsewhere because of this noise.

hatrickpatrick

I've always had ridiculously strong hearing and this drives me absolutely insane every time I've to walk up O'Connell St. Wonderful solution to their antisocial behaviour problem - inflicting antisocial behaviour themselves on every pedestrian who has to walk past. Scumbags the lot of them IMO.

Can confirm that they're probably over the threshhold for damage as well, I had tinnitus for the rest of the evening the first time I encountered this yoke. How do we go about making an allegation of assault? Just drop in to Store St Gardai?

BeerNut

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

How do we go about making an allegation of assault? Just drop in to Store St Gardai?

Start with your solicitor.

hatrickpatrick

BeerNut wrote: »

Start with your solicitor.

I'm not looking for civil compensation or anything though, I'm more interested in getting them on the wrong side of the law such that somebody forces them to remove the feckin' thing

beauf

I'd say the council would be the people to make a complaint too.

BeerNut

The Council's noise pollution page is here.

me_irl

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I've always had ridiculously strong hearing and this drives me absolutely insane every time I've to walk up O'Connell St. Wonderful solution to their antisocial behaviour problem - inflicting antisocial behaviour themselves on every pedestrian who has to walk past. Scumbags the lot of them IMO.

Can confirm that they're probably over the threshhold for damage as well, I had tinnitus for the rest of the evening the first time I encountered this yoke. How do we go about making an allegation of assault? Just drop in to Store St Gardai?

I found some info on the "legal status" of these devices (granted it's from wikipedia).

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104277893&postcount=5

Wiki references this article from 2007: http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2007/0530/ireland/using-mosquito-devices-on-children-could-constitute-assault-says-ombudsman-33884.html

papu

Which owner has had it installed?
My guessing would be the Casino, does anyone know for sure?

Cookie_Monster

The council over here plays classical music in places to drive of the undesirables, much more pleasant than that kind of incessant whine.

4068ac1elhodqr

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

The council over here plays classical music in places to drive of the undesirables, much more pleasant than that kind of incessant whine.

Classical music has shown in various tests to deter antisocial behaviour. Some theories also express 'general well-being is improved' when concert A pitch is re-tuned down slightly from the 440 to the 432Hz, (another extensive subject matter altogether).

The issue with this aggravating street noise is its delivery (often by stealth). It has a whiff of the 'Cuban sonic weaponry incident' about it. Exposure may not be realised and thus risk of injury increased. Without public signage presenting this risk (if db is excessive) could easily envisage a legal challenge to it.

Other experiments have shown slightly subsonic noise <35Hz can quickly create physical symptoms and queasiness. So the opposite may well be true e.g. 40Mhz will disrupt breading cycles in the common dustmite, and quickly deter moles or rodents. Your typical HiFi tweeter will only just manage 20Mhz, but specialist products are available to reach 40Mhz.

LionelNashe

I was in town the other day and walked by that doorway to check it out - I can hear it quite easily when I'm within 4 or 5 feet of it, and I'm 45 years old. I think it's calibrated to be heard by anyone, and just in the immediate vicinity of the doorway, which means it's probably not as high pitched enough to be as annoying as it could be.

papu

LionelNashe wrote: »

I was in town the other day and walked by that doorway to check it out - I can hear it quite easily when I'm within 4 or 5 feet of it, and I'm 45 years old. I think it's calibrated to be heard by anyone, and just in the immediate vicinity of the doorway, which means it's probably not as high pitched enough to be as annoying as it could be.

26, I can hear it loudly from across the road.

Annoys me every time I walk by it