58 SecTion | 2 What's the Ear For? How to Protect It device--think of a child's cry or a shout. During most of human history, when it was loud, trouble was involved. Physiologically, loud noises give us a shot of adrenaline, gearing us up to either fight or flee. Today, while neither fight nor flight is an appropri- ate response to loud noise, we still receive that shot of adrenaline. This is the reason for the popularity of loud movie soundtracks, loud exercise gyms, and loud music. It adds excitement and energy to activities. But it is also the reason for the stress-related effects of noise. There is great incentive to turn up the volume, especially since the consequences are often not experienced until years later when the extent of hearing damage becomes apparent. People come to concert venues for excitement, not to be bored, and they come will- ingly; in fact, they pay to suffer whatever damage might be caused. Still, it is not a well-informed decision, and often minors are in the audience. But mostly, high volume isn't necessary. The desired physiological responses occur at lower noise levels. Moreover, it makes little sense for an industry to degrade the experience of lis- tening to music in the future for whatever marginal gain comes from turning it up a few more decibels now. Fortunately, even small gestures to lower noise levels have notice- able impacts. Because every 3 dB decrease halves exposure, small decreases in sound pressure level can vastly increase public safety. 2.4.2 Protecting the community Noise can spill over from a venue into the community. The term noise has two very different meanings. When discussing hearing loss, noise refers to a sound that is loud enough to risk hearing damage. In a community setting, noise is aural litter. It is audible trash. Noise is to the soundscape as litter is to the landscape. When noise spills over into the community, it is the aural equivalent of throwing McDonald's wrappers onto someone else's property. When noise reaches the community, often it has lost its higher- frequency content, as that is more easily attenuated by buildings, bar- riers, and even the atmosphere. What is often left is the bass sound.