WRITTEN PUBLIC
COMMENTS RECEIVED
To: Beverly Hills Pickleball Commission Meeting
Hello to all, My name is Franne Goldberg long time resident of Beverly Hills As an active member of our vibrant Pickleball community here in Beverly Hills, with players who are both residents and non-residents, I am here along with many friends to strongly urge the City Council to move forward on the commitment to make permanent our Pickleball program and upgrade our Beverly Hills courts in a timely manner.
We urgently need :
• courts to be painted to Pickleball standards at both Roxbury and LC, not doing double duty for tennis.
• We need additional courts at La Cienega.
• New Professional Nets
• Upgraded seating amenities or at the very least not bent and broken chair legs • Court Evening hours at Roxbury
• Upgraded booking/cancellation system
• Speaking to the issue of more courts at La Cienega;
There are 16 Tennis courts at LC and currently 2 are doing double duty for Pickleball.
Leaving 14 courts. Pickleball accommodates 4 courts to every 1 tennis court, which is increased revenue for the city . I understand that there is a proposal for 1 additional court giving Pickleball 3 and Tennis 13 courts. There is no contest on this! Vote YES today! Just please do not relegate it to the another back noisy court on La Cienega side where we cant even hear each other. We would like a front court. We actually need at least 2 more converted Tennis courts, not 1. It is exceedingly difficult to book courts in prime times. And often they are taken for Lessons and classes, further reducing the availabililty of regular play.
Surrounding cities are building out Pickleball courts because there is a need and its profitable. How can a premier city such as Beverly Hills fall so far behind when we should be a leader in whats possible? Not to mention what a shame to lose the revenue to other better appointed premises .
In conclusion, As you all have heard, we love pickleball here in Beverly Hills. It’s not only the fastest growing sport in the country, but it has a great side benefit in the camradierie that has grown to make it a very social gathering and meeting spot for many in the community and out, to create new friendships in the pursuit of playing pickleball. And for people to send more time in our lovely city.
See you on the court!
Franne Goldberg
From: Rebecca Damavandi
To: City Clerk
Subject: Agenda item SS-A5
Date: Monday, August 4, 2025 11:30:44 AM
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Dear Council Members,
I have been a 35+ yr Beverly Hills resident. Our city has always done things in a fair and transparent manner.
Unfortunately this was not the case for the proposed permanent pickleball courts.
1. The pilot program was for 2 tennis courts to convert to pickleball courts at the La Cienega facility. Now, because the previous commission chair is an avid pickleball player she changed the proposal to be 3 tennis courts converted!
This has not been tested, was not part of the pilot and will change the tennis facility to have more pickleball courts instead of tennis. She should have recused herself from the process.
2. Moving the 2 pickleball courts to the La Cienega side is wise and we agree will help shield the noise. However adding a 3rd court in the middle of the tennis facility congregated together will make the noise issue even worse.
More importantly it has not been tested.
Beverly Hills should do what was actually tested in the pilot program. Only 2 tennis courts converted to pickleball.
That is why a pilot is done. Not a bait and switch whereby in a clandestine manner an additional court is to be made permanently pickleball. This interferes with all tennis programming and the ability to reserve courts and maintain a peaceful tennis facility which we all love and use.
In addition, Beverly Hills has always provided facilities for all sports. Padel is the fastest growing sport globally. It is the Beverly Hills demographic. It doesn’t cause noise disturbance or the lawsuits that pickleball has caused in cities across the USA. If at some point an additional court is to be tested it should be for padel, not pickleball. Why would we make 3 courts permanent pickleball at the tennis center? 1 court should be left as tennis and be flexible for other future changes that are happening globally… if anything.
Thank you
Rebecca Damavandi
Sent from my iPhone=
I can only add one comment. I know that tennis players are against converting the tennis courts to pickleball courts. Please be aware that when I play on Saturday and Sunday morning, many of the tennis courts are not being used. In fact, the courts are rarely all being used at the same time! Thank you for your time.
Cathy Hodes Greenly, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Realty, Global Luxury
International President’s Circle
Top 5% Worldwide
Sent from my iPhone
The City keeps a copy of all E-mails sent and received for a minimum of 2 years. All retained E-mails will be treated as a Public Record per the California Public Records Act, and may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the terms, and subject to the exemptions, of that Act.
offered their support of the plan."
"Following a discussion about the possibility of recommending court four at La Cienega Tennis Center rather than court seven, the commissioners decided to move forward with city staff’s recommendations."
"The plan was approved by City Council liaisons in an ad hoc meeting Feb. 27 and will now go before the full City Council."
If the majority of the comments were opposed to the changes, what made the council ignore the majority and go forward with the changes? I want to reiterate from my previous emails that tennis and pickleball are two very different activities and cultures. Your consideration of either court 4 or court 7 puts pickleball geographically right in the center of tennis and maximizes disruption. If expanding and committing to pickleball is an inevitable change, it makes much more sense to separate the sound of pickleball from tennis and consolidate noise by choosing courts along La Cienega (e.g., 12, 15, 16, OR 8, 12, 16).
Unless the Courier article left out details or misrepresented the decision making process, I will definitely think twice about taking the time to provide thoughtful comments about Beverly Hills issues in the future.
Sincerely,
Anne Griffin
be very fun and I don’t have anything against the sport.
However, in my opinion, tennis and pickle ball are very different and combining them has changed the quality of experience for the tennis players.
The biggest difference between the two sports is the
sound. The plastic pickle ball hitting the solid paddle creates a very rapid and loud pop. Pickle ball ettiquite is also different in that it’s acceptable to scream out during points and it’s not uncommon for groups to play loud
music. In contrast, tennis is a very quiet sport, much like golf. To scream at all during a tennis point would be
considered a hindrance. So if you’re playing within ear shot of a pickleball court, you‘re distracted by the paddle pop and verbal outbursts from up to 16 people.
I don’t know how the usage numbers compare, but I
know how difficult it is for me to get a court reservation for tennis even though I can reserve 7 days ahead of
time.
I’m disappointed to find out you want to add more
pickleball courts. I actually wish you would consider
moving pickle ball to another location. Some suggestions would be pairing pickle ball next to baseball across the street, designating all four courts at Roxbury or
converting an empty building with noise absorbing
ceilings.
Thank you for considering my observations and ideas.
Anne Griffin
environmental review is warrented, it’s the ethical response to such a major change to traffic, noise, parking, etc. which is the intent of the CEQA process. This project is not just a simple matter of restriping lines on a tennis courts. The community should be made aware of the potential risks and the impact to the tennis players who call La Cienega Tennis Center and Roxbury Park their “home courts.” The CEQA process would provide adequate to all the stakeholders, including the tennis community. In our view, skipping that step is cheating the public out of their rights to review this proposed project.
To see the scope and impact of this issue, I encourage you to explore our online community:
Our central hub: www.pickleballnoiserelief.com
Our active Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pickleballnoiserelief Our video resource library on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@robmastroianni A visual representation of affected areas: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? mid=1obF5UNxqSbADZn7kj_OeZYwWQCKcTx8&usp=sharing
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Nalini Lasiewicz, Exec Dir
Lasiewicz Foundation
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Office: (818) 249-9691 PST
Hills pickleball needs courts which are safe and represent our beautiful city.
Nets should not be held up with plastic clips or duct tape. The nets should be permanent not rolling around on wheels. Striping should be according to the sport being played. It has been multiple years that pickleballplayers have lived with these subpar conditions, and it’s past the time to make decisions.
Permanent stripping is now needed.
Converting tennis courts to pickleball courts is a strategic move to better serve the community and foster a more inclusive recreational environment.
One of the most compelling reasons is that a single tennis court can be repurposed to accommodate up to four pickleball courts, dramatically increasing the number of people who can play simultaneously. This transformation allows for a higher utilization of public spaces, reducing wait times and encouraging more residents to get active. Pickleball is also a more accessible sport for a wider range of ages and physical abilities, as it is played on a smaller court and involves less running than tennis. This makes it a perfect activity for families, seniors, and beginners. By embracing pickleball, communities can create vibrant hubs of activity that promote physical health, social connection, and a sense of belonging for everyone.
I am in full support of adding and repairing all pickle ball courts at Roxbury and LaCienega. I play regularly at Roxbury and have noticed that on the weekends, the Tennis Courts are often empty. However, the 4 Pickleball courts are filled with 16 players of all ages. This sport is the most rapidly growing sports in America. Many, many, seniors like myself, have been able to play Pickleball, especially when tennis is no longer an option. It is one sport that is good for the body, mind and soul. Please increase the number of courts including repairs to the existing ones.
Thank you!
Polly Powers
Makeup Artist
Film/TV/Print
The City keeps a copy of all E-mails sent and received for a minimum of 2 years. All retained E-mails will be treated as a Public Record per the California Public Records Act, and may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the terms, and subject to the exemptions, of that Act.
foreseeable consequences the community must clean up after the pickleball players in its wake.
2. Incompatibility with Park Character & Existing Users: These parks are vital green spaces designed for passive recreation, relaxation, family gatherings, and quieter activities. Introducing the intense, concentrated activity and noise of pickleball fundamentally alters the tranquil character residents expect and value. The noise and activity generated by multiple pickleball courts would overwhelm and displace current park users seeking quiet enjoyment, such as readers, picnickers, walkers, and families with young children using playgrounds.
3. Traffic, Parking, and Congestion: Pickleball attracts dedicated players who often drive to dedicated courts. Adding popular pickleball facilities to these neighborhood parks would significantly increase vehicular traffic on already busy residential streets. Parking, which is often limited near these parks, would become severely strained, inconveniencing residents and other park visitors. Roxbury Park, in particular, faces known parking challenges.
4. Negative Impact on Property Values: Proximity to a persistent, disruptive noise source like pickleball courts is widely recognized as a factor that can negatively impact residential property values. Homeowners near the proposed court locations have legitimate concerns about the potential devaluation of their significant investments. The National Association of Realtors acknowledged last year in a self-published study that homes nearby pickleball courts can see a drop in home value by as much as 20%, a significant source of propety tax revenue required to operate municipalities are lost due to the perceived negativities of pickleball and excessive noise.
Please see the article here.
<https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/sales-marketing/are-nearby-pickleballcourts-a-real-estate-win-or-loss> Beverly Hills prides itself on its quality of life and beautiful residential environments. Installing disruptive pickleball courts at La Cienega and Roxbury Parks would significantly undermine these values for the residents living closest to them. Please prioritize the well-being of your neighborhoods and preserve the intended character of these cherished parks.
Thank you for your time and consideration of these critical concerns.
Sincerely,
Henry Soong
From: Cynthia Trangsrud
To: City Clerk
Subject: City Council Study Session at 1:30 p.m. on August 5, 2025 - Agenda item A-6 - Pickleball Program Date: Saturday, August 2, 2025 5:21:51 PM
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Hello! I am a Beverly Hills resident and I regularly enjoy playing pickleball at both La Cienega and Roxbury Parks. I am writing to express my support for the city staff’s recommendation to finalize the Pickleball Pilot Program by converting four tennis courts (court 1 at Roxbury and courts 7, 8 and 12 at La Cienega) to create 16 permanent, dedicated pickleball courts. I also heartily support approving a contract with PlaybyPoint’s reservation software system. I do have some questions about the proposed revised regulations for tennis and pickleball and encourage the council to ask staff and the RPC to consider seeking input from end users prior to implementation and the roll out of the PlaybyPoint app.
I very much appreciate the efforts of City staff, the RPC, the City Council liaisons and the Council for thoughtfully considering and addressing the range of competing interests involved and working to finally implement a successful permanent pickleball program.
Thank you!
Cindy Trangsrud
The Lasiewicz Foundation, a California non-profit, has launched a noise control project after researching resident complaints about the sound produced by the game of outdoor pickleball. We advocate research on the physical and mental impacts of exposure to impulsive noise. In addition, we provide information to complainants, regulators, HOAs and community Boards for more effective planning standards and zoning restrictions.
Health Concerns from Nearby Residents-Oct 26, 2024
Each comment comes from a different individual, from locations across North America.
All information has been de-identified for privacy.
NOTE: If you are currently suffering from symptoms related to chronic exposure to pickleball noise, this information may be upsetting to read. Please know that you are not alone. Be sure to reach out to family, friends, a therapist, and/or your doctor for support. The Pickleball Noise Relief Facebook group is closely administered and is a very safe place to get support.
We believe that this information may be valuable to bring attention to the health effects of chronic exposure to pickleball noise and may be helpful as we work to educate local leaders. There is no published research currently on the long-term effects of pickleball noise. Our Science and Health Advisory Group is working diligently to address the lack of good information. We will post updates, as available, on our website and/or Facebook.
“The anxiety of the noise is making me sink into a
deep depression. I do not want to leave my home of
43 years…all so people can have fun playing a
game. It is becoming more than I can handle…”
“Absolutely yes! The noise sticks in your head and
you hear it when it’s not there! It’s a form of PTSD. I live in earplugs!”
“Why aren’t you listening to people who feel like
pickleball is torture?”
"It doesn't let me enjoy going out in my yard. It's just stressful. It causes constant stress.”
"My heart races anytime I get near it. Trauma has
memory.”
"Because of the continuous sound from the court,
my Doctor has increased my PTSD and anxiety
medications today. Instead of getting off of my
medications in 30 days, as planned, he increased
the strength by double."
"This is like Chinese Water Torture."
“Pickleball Nightmares?”
"The pain, suffering and mental anguish is
unbearable. Someday the perpetrators of this
nightmare will pay"
"This dangerous involuntary noise torture
experiment ran it’s full course. Now please stop it."
"The noise messes with your head, you know?"
"If I have to go into my backyard and listen to it I
sometimes yell PING POP PING PING POP haha.
It’s like living in a pressure cooker if I have to be
home listening to it all day, it’s not good.”
“Phantom noises wake me up from a deep sleep,
my heart jumps when I hear certain POP sounds.”
"I could literally feel my blood pressure going up
whenever I was subjected to the noise."
"Splitting headaches, high blood pressure, sleep
deprivation."
"Stress, fatigue, anxiety, loss of concentration,
mental distress, loss of sleep."
“I got through losing a child. This is harder.”
“I’ll admit I’m a sufferer of PTPSS - Post Traumatic
Pickle Stress Syndrome. Actually, a survivor of
PTPSS, sleepless nights. Moved.”
"...suffer from many symptoms, such as inability to
concentrate, stress and anxiety."
“I have a child with autism spectrum disorder, PTSD
and separation anxiety. Since courts opened, his
behaviors with the loud noises are more
problematic, with increased hitting himself,
headbutting me, banging head on ground when is
gets dysregulated by the noises.”
"Chinese water torture is what I call it."
“I cannot live a normal life.. For me, it’s
hell…headaches, mental distress, depression,
anxiety and increased gastrointestinal issues.”
“...destroyed by hundreds of high pitched, brain cell
killing pops, I equated what I felt in that moment to
being attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. 10's of
thousands of bites over 13 hours like yesterday is
not tenable. The physical and mental toll from
constantly being in a state of high alert from these
daily assaults is not known yet, but will be revealed
in the coming years by unwilling lab testers like
myself.”
“I am literally in tears right now - the noise has me
very stressed and depressed.“
“Does anyone else experience this? Woke up at 2
am because of phantom noise, heart racing and
couldn't get back to sleep. Still happens after 2
years of this.”
“It's a serious thing when you hear things which are
not real…Every single morning when I wake up I was
thinking about another torture day. I have been
tortured every single day.”
"I definitely have a trauma response" Lived in
Saudi Arabia, in a complex hit with suicide bomber.
She states the noise from pickleball is worse.”
"..the constant noise has led to headaches, mental
distress, and loss of sleep, impacting their daily
lives significantly."
"4 Pickleball courts have been installed 100ft from
my house and within thefirst week I am driven
insane with the noise!”
“I cannot relax and am always angry!!!”
"My whole body is stressed from this…Now as the
morning gets near i toss and turn just waiting for
that first jarring pop that has my heart racing, blood
pressure rising and my tired body forced to get up
before i want to. it’s like a pistol going off next to
my ear."
"Even the CIA has regulations they follow so as not
to torture inhumanely with noise."
"The problem as with pickleball is that it’s incessant
and we have no control...I’m an Iraq veteran, spent
6 months living in a plywood shack and hearing
rockets and mortars hit the camp often. I walked
away from that experience with no PTSD. This is
worse."
"Anyone else living near this racket getting chronic
headaches?...sensitization to sound."
“My dad is a Vietnam veteran, and the constant pop
pop pop sound has triggered PTSD."
“I spend a lot of time praying that somehow, I will
grow accustomed to the noise, but that isn’t going
to happen. I’ve attended numerous town meetings
and they act as if I’m crazy...I have been dealing
with irregular heart rate issues and major stress.”
“I’m sick to my stomach. I can’t sleep at night. It's
been horrific for the last three summers.”
“I do not think I am exaggerating, based upon what I
have researched and read, to state that the chronic,
intrusive, invasive and non-escapable nuisance
assault of pickleball noises can equate to the slow
un-aliving of the person(s) being impacted…The
silence between hits becomes as stressful as the
impulse noise.”
"...has caused me to have the equivalent of PTSD...
I find that even tennis on the same courts now
triggers a similar response. For me, I feel that I have been Imprinted with pball noise and I react to it now
at any volume or dB level. I cannot accept having a
court near me that has been "mitigated" at any
level, it will still trigger a fight or flight response.” “Migraines, relationship issues, feel like I’m going
crazy, sleep is completely disrupted.” Takes
medication for symptoms. Is an ER doctor, used to
trauma and stress. Says “Pickleball is like nothing
I’ve ever dealt with.”
“The harsh and disturbing noises from pickleball
play enters my home 11 hours per day, 7 days per
week, 365 days per year. This has negatively
impacted my physical, mental and emotional
health. I have been quite ill and I have lost 35 - 45
lbs due to the stress and anxiety and I have recently
been hospitalized for 2 weeks due to cardiac
problems and high blood pressure.”
"I hear the pop of water on to my pool float and it
makes me jump. How ridiculous is that?"
“The noise is constant, you wake up and you hear it,
you go to sleep and you hear it, you can't escape it.
It was an intrusion that I couldn't escape.... Seeing
a therapist every two weeks. Diagnosed with PTSD
With high levels of stress....No prior mental health
issues.”
“My IBS has been acting up lately and I think it's
because of the constant pops and not knowing
when the noise will stop. I need help.”
No one believed me early on as I heard phantom
pb. I went nuts on New Years Day a few years ago,
it being a holiday I was looking forward to the
silence. I’m in bed and I swear I hear pb. Instant
anxiety. I walk over to the courts only to see every
gate locked and not a single person in the park. I
feel like this was around year 3 at that time the
courts were 8am- 10pm every day and I was losing
my mind. Happened a few other times as well,
really scary feeling when I’m convinced I hear it and
there is no one at the courts. I’ve been through so
much with noise from pb.”
For more information contact:
The Lasiewicz Foundation
(818) 249-9691
[email protected]
or visit:
Pickleball Noise Relief on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pickleballnoise
relief
Pickleball Noise Relief on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@robmastroianni
Pickleball Noise Hotspots on Google Maps
https://tinyurl.com/59wev7de
VIDEO: The Hidden Health Dangers of Pickleball
Noise, featuring Kathleen Romito, MD
https://youtu.be/7HtYXyU41Qc?si=OTgqL4YJLo1h
6NZO
“Siting a pickleball court without proper planning
is the functional equivalent of planning to create
noise problems and community conflicts.”
Les Blomberg
Noise Pollution Clearinghouse
Pickleball noise: The physical and psychological effects on nearby neighbors Plain Language Summary
Kathleen Romito, M.D. and Daniel Fink, M.D.
Proceedings of Meeting on Acoustics, Vol. 56, 050001 (2025) [email protected]
The Research Findings
Recent research shows that residents living near pickleball courts are reporting serious health concerns from the pickleball noise. Decades of research have shown that noise is harmful to health, leading to heart problems and mental health issues, but pickleball noise may be even worse because it is a constant, piercing, rat-a-tat sound that can often be heard inside people’s homes.
The researchers collected public comments about health issues related to pickleball noise from news reports, legal filings, and social media. The research study found that concerns raised by nearby neighbors were almost equally divided between physical issues and psychological concerns.
Disrupted sleep, cardiac, and neurologic complaints were the most common reported physical symptoms from nearby neighbors. [See Figure 1.]
Fig.1 Reported physical symptoms from pickleball noise exposure Hearing phantom pops (i.e. hearing the pops, when no play is occurring) is an unusual concern. Some report phantom pops waking them at night or persisting for months after moving away from pickleball courts. More research is needed as scientists don’t completely understand how the brain is being affected by the phantom pops.
Reported psychological symptoms include anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms. Mentions of “torture” were more frequent than mentions of “stress. Reports of severe distress were the most common psychological concerns noted. One example of a comment classified as “severe distress” is: “No one would choose to live this way. It is physically and emotionally debilitating.” Two reports of suicidal thoughts related to chronic pickleball noise were classified as “severe distress.” Fig. 2 Reported psychological symptoms from pickleball noise exposure.
Noise activates an unconscious physiologic fight-or-flight stress response in our bodies. In the short term, this can lead to many of the serious health concerns noted in this study. Over the long term, noise increases the risk of heart disease and mental health issues. It may contribute to an increased risk of memory loss and stroke. Noise also affects our ability to concentrate and how children learn.
Why do those living near pickleball courts feel this way? Environmental health researchers note that 30% of the human perception of sound comes from the decibel/sound level and that 70% comes from other factors as described above. In other words, we have to pay attention to more than just the decibel readings.
Impulse: The piercing pickleball “pop” comes from a sudden, loud burst of sound called impulse noise, known to be much more bothersome than regular noise–even earning a penalty of 5-12 decibels with sound readings. People have never been exposed to this type of noise in their homes, for hours on end.
Alarming: The frequency of the pickleball pop is comparable to backup alarms on a garbage truck (1200 Hz). Our brains and auditory systems are built so that we unconsciously respond to sounds like this as “alarming”.
Incessant: At 900 pops/hour, courts can quickly rack up a lot of pops in one day. The chart below is from an HOA with 4 courts, with up to 2800 pops/hour and a total of 21,208 pops in one days. That’s a lot of disruptive popping noise to endure
Fig. 4. Hourly distribution of 21,208 total pops at one site with 4 courts.
Reproduced with permission from Noise Net Operations US, Inc. https://pickleballnoiseac.com/ Constant: Figure 5 demonstrates a day for busy courts open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. and shows that nearby neighbors may have as little as 3 hours awake without any noise. It’s not unusual for those living near pickleball courts to be exposed to this repetitive impulse noise more than 90 hours/week.
Figure 5. A typical day of pickleball noise exposure for a neighbor near busy courts.
Human Factors: Residents report feeling trapped, unable to open windows or escape the noise in their homes. Speaking out can lead to harassment, threats, and gaslighting. These contextual factors can contribute to how our brains perceive unwanted noise.
Open this link to hear the sounds generated by 4 pickleball courts. Many people can hear this inside their home, even with windows and doors closed, for hours every day.
The researchers, physicians with years of experience caring for patients, note that the severity of the reported concerns from pickleball noise is concerning. A trauma psychologist also reviewed the data and is concerned about the PTSD-like symptoms. A retired Army colonel reviewed the data and said “This reminds me of psychological operations used during wartime.” Most local noise ordinances and most sound studies only focus on average decibel/sound levels. They don’t consider all the factors that affect how people actually perceive noise, including the tone, the duration, and the number of pops/day. As pickleball noise expert Robert (Bob) Unetich told NPR in 2023, "You can't take pop, pop, pop for 12 hours a day every day and remain sane.” According to sound professionals who’ve assessed >150 pickleball sites, courts within 100 feet of homes are nearly impossible to quiet, even with good barriers. Between 100–400 feet, costly barriers, restricted hours, and quiet equipment may all be needed. All courts within 1,000 feet should undergo comprehensive sound analysis.
Recommendations:
Considering the expert acoustic advice and these recent research findings, the authors recommend:
1. Setbacks
a. Courts < 100 feet from homes almost always should be moved or enclosed. b. Courts 100-400 feet from homes need urgent sound review. To control the noise, these courts will likely need high quality sound barriers and required quiet paddles/balls and restricted hours.
c. Courts 400-1000 feet from homes require comprehensive sound review and may need some sort of mitigation.
2. Deciding where to place new courts should be done with great, as we wait for more research about how to protect the health of neighbors living nearby.
3. All sound studies evaluating pickleball court location should include not only decibel readings, but all the other factors that influence how humans perceive sound.
This research highlights serious concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to pickleball noise. Just as secondhand smoke led to indoor smoking bans, pickleball courts must be sited to protect nearby residents from intrusive impulse noise. Just as there is no safe level for secondhand smoke, it's possible the same holds true for unwanted pickleball noise. More research is needed, but in the meantime, new courts should be placed as far from homes as possible—to safeguard health and prevent costly litigation.
The full research paper, with all references, can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JQfQjJVT_Ly6ftyjKlp8Wmr27CnSOOdn/view?usp=sharing Volume 54 http://acousticalsociety.org/
Acoustics Week in Canada
Joint Meeting
186th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America
and the Canadian Acoustical Association
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
13-17 May 2024
Noise: Paper 4pNA10
A comprehensive new definition of Noise
Daniel Fink
Program Chair, The Quiet Coalition, A Program of Quiet Communities, Inc., P.O. Box 533, Lincoln, MA, 01773; [email protected]; [email protected]
A comprehensive new definition of noise is proposed to update the >90-year old Acoustical Society of America/American National Standards Institute definition, acknowledging the harmful effects of noise on humans, animals and plants. Noise: a) For living things, noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. b) In engineering and electronics, noise is any unwanted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. c) In scientific measurements, noise is erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation. The new definition emphasizes that noise harms living things. Annotations provide additional clarification of the definition. The comprehensive new definition also updates the noise definition presented at the 2019 Acoustical Society of America winter meeting, noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. Unlike the standard definition of noise, noise is unwanted sound, that new definition emphasized that unwanted sound is harmful, able to cause adverse auditory and non-auditory health effects, and that wanted sound can cause auditory damage. Cited >60 times, the previous new definition opens the 2021 American Public Health Association policy statement Noise as a Public Health Hazard, and was adopted by the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise and added to its Constitution in 2023.
Published by the Acoustical Society of America
Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0002057. ©2025 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
INTRODUCTION
Revising standards is important to the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), both to update them as needed, to make them useful across the sciences, and to meet the needs of government, industry, academia, and the public. As Blaeser and Struck wrote, “The Acoustical Society of America's involvement in and support of standards development work, both national and international, is perhaps its major outwardfacing program, serving the needs of government, industry, and academia, as well as the needs of its members. Since its inception, the Acoustical Society of America has included the development of acoustical standards as one of the main elements of its mission. The standards published by ASA provide a trusted source of technical information to people both within and outside of ASA's membership.” 1
The current ASA definition of noise,2 Clause 2.32 in ASA/ANSI Standard S1.1, dates back to the efforts of a standards committee in the early 1930s, >90 years ago, when noise was first defined as unwanted sound.3
“2.32 noise. (a) Undesired sound. By extension, noise is any unwanted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. (b) Erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation.
Annotation 1. If ambiguity exists as to the nature of the noise a phrase such as acoustic noise” or “electric noise” should be used.
Annotation 2. Since definitions 2.32 (a) and (b) are not mutually exclusive, it is usually necessary to depend upon context for the distinction. 2”
The implication of the phrase undesired sound is that human reactions to unwanted sound are merely subjective. Noise is perceived merely as a nuisance, not as the health hazard it actually represents.
In 2019, the author presented a new definition of noise- noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound- at the December meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in San Diego, California, and subsequently published that new definition in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).4 The importance of the 2019 definition was that it explicitly mentions that noise is harmful, making the definition relevant to the life sciences and removing the subjectivity of the term unwanted sound. The POMA paper has been cited >60 times. The new definition opens the American Public Health Association policy statement Noise as a Public Health Hazard. 5 It was adopted by the
International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise (ICBEN) in 2023 and incorporated into Article II of the ICBEN Constitution.6 Efforts to get the new definition into standard dictionaries have so far been unsuccessful.
D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 2
WORDS MATTER
Words have both denotations and connotations. Denotations are the literal dictionary definitions or meanings of the words. Connotations are the meanings or ideas that the words suggest. Words have the power to change how people perceive reality, to make them think differently about what they read, to actually change how they think.7.
An example may be the relatively recent change in terminology from motor vehicle accident to motor vehicle crash. Accidents happen unexpectedly, randomly, by chance, without an apparent cause. When research showed that motor vehicle accidents were not random but were crashes with identifiable causes, e.g., driver intoxication, mechanical failure, or roadway design, transportation safety information professionals changed the terminology they were using. The eighth edition of American National Standard ANSI D.16- 2017 is titled Manual on Classification of Motor Vehicle Crashes. 8 Many media reports still use accidents, but this usage is beginning to change.
PROBLEMS WITH THE STANDARD DEFINITIONS OF NOISE
Some standard definitions of noise are listed in Table 1. Many use the phrase “noise is undesired sound”, but undesired is a rarely used word. The more common wording, noise is unwanted sound, is better. Both undesired and unwanted imply that noise is merely subjective, making it inappropriate for either science or government policy to address its dangers. As was discussed five years ago, there are several problems with this definition of noise. Defining noise only as unwanted sound trivializes the problem of noise, ignoring the proven adverse auditory and non-auditory health effects of noise.
Calling noise merely unwanted sound puts the onus on those complaining about noise, marking them as neurotic, hypersensitive, more concerned about their own auditory comfort than allowing someone else to enjoy loud music or an unlawful motorcycle exhaust. Doing so makes noise purely subjective, when there are evidence-based noise exposure levels affecting human health and function.9
The definition noise is unwanted sound makes noise complainers similar to those who complained about unwanted secondhand smoke before indoor smoking bans were implemented. They were perceived as fussy or unsociable, more interested in their own comfort than in allowing someone to indulge in what was perceived as a harmless habit.
After the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking in 196410, smoking was no longer seen as harmless, but was still widespread. Attempts to secure smoke-free environments were largely unsuccessful, limited to designated no-smoking sections in restaurants, bars, waiting rooms, and airplanes. Unfortunately, secondhand smoke was unable to read the signs.
Again, as discussed in the previous paper, the example of tobacco smoke offers instructive insights. When the Environmental Protection Agency declared in 1993 that environmental tobacco smoke, the technical term for secondhand smoke, was a Class D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 3 TABLE 1 CURRENT DEFINITIONS OF NOISE
American National Standard Acoustical Terminology ANSI/ASA S1.1-2013: 2.32 noise. (a) Undesired sound. By extension, noise is any unwanted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. (b) Erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation.2 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Noise: undesired sound. (1) Undesired sound. By extension, noise is any unwarranted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. (2) Erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation (ANSI S1.1-1994: noise). 11 National Academy of Engineering: Noise: (a) Undesired sound, by extension is any unwarranted disturbance in a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. (b) Erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation.12
World Health Organization: Noise: Undesired sound. By extension, noise is any unwarranted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device.13
Basner et al.: Noise is defined as “unwanted sound,” and, therefore, has both an objective and a subjective component. Whether or not a sound is considered as noise depends both on its acoustical properties and its interference with intended activities.
For example, attendees of a rock concert likely do not perceive the music as noise despite very high SPLs. [SPL = Sound Pressure Level] In contrast, residents living in the vicinity of the concert hall may perceive the music as noise despite much lower levels, as it may interfere with activities like reading a book or learning for school.14 Kryter: In the fields of physics, electronics, neurophysiology and communication theory, noise means signals that bear no information and whose intensities usually vary randomly in time. The word noise is used in that sense in physical acoustics. But for our purposes noise will be defined as audible acoustic energy (or sound) that is unwanted because it has adverse auditory and nonauditory physiological or psychological effects on people.15
Lansing, MI Code of Ordinances Chapter 654.03: Noise means any sound which annoys or disturbs humans or which causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans.16
Reproduced in modified form with permission of the Acoustical Society of America from Fink, D. A new definition of noise: Noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. Noise is the new secondhand smoke. Proc Mtgs Acoust 39, 05002, (2020) https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001186
D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 4 A carcinogen with no known safe lower level of exposure17, advocates for smoke-free environments suddenly became health advocates. Smoking bans rapidly spread across the country and around the world. In the United States, the percent of Americans exposed to secondhand smoke decreased from 88% in 1998-1991 to 25% in 2013- 2014.18 The prevalence of smokers in the American population declined from about 50% of American men smoking after World War II to 11.5% of Americans of both genders in 2023.19 The reduction in smoking and in exposure to secondhand smoke was a great public health success, with millions of lives saved and many more hospitalizations prevented.20
As an article in the Washington Post recently noted, noise is the new secondhand smoke.21 Redefinition of noise to include mention of its harmful effects may have an effect similar to the EPA declaration of environmental tobacco smoke as a carcinogen.
Those advocating for quiet may be viewed as health advocates. In turn, this may lead to recommendations, guidelines, or even standards for noise exposure for the public.
Why does quiet matter? Humans and other animals evolved in quiet, with the 50th percentile of natural A-weighted sound levels ranging from 25-40 A-weighted decibels (dBA).22 (See Figure 1.) (A-weighting reflects the equal-loudness frequency response of human hearing for low-level sounds.) Loud sounds in nature are rare: thunderstorms, waterfalls, earthquakes, landslides and avalanches, the calls of animals or birds gathered in a tree at dawn or dusk, every several years the hatching of a brood of cicadas in certain regions. For animals, loud noise generally indicates danger. The perception of danger causes an involuntary stress response. In humans, the stress response has three phases: an almost immediate increase in blood pressure and pulse, mediated by the autonomic nervous system23; a slower increase in stress hormone levels, mediated by the hypophyseal-pituitary-adrenal axis24; and as reported in 2017, inflammation of the vascular intima mediated by activation of the amygdala in the brain.25 Over time these involuntary physiological responses can lead to increased cholesterol, blood glucose, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and increased mortality.26 Noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis are unlikely to be found in populations not exposed to noise.27 The auditory and non-auditory diseases caused by noise may be classified among the “diseases of civilization”, caused by the conditions of life in modern industrialized society.28,29
Unwanted sound, such as sudden loud noise exposure from a jackhammer or fire alarm, can cause auditory damage, including noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. Wanted sound, such as that at a rock concert, wedding party, or sports event, as well as the use of personal listening devices, can also cause auditory damage.30,31 When wanted sound exposure reaches levels causing auditory damage, it becomes noise. The noise dose causing hearing loss has been well-researched with recommendations from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health11 and standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration32 being promulgated for occupational noise exposure. These noise limits need to be recalculated downwards D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 5 for several reasons33, but are at least a start towards understanding what safe noise exposure levels are for humans.34,35
There are no U.S. federal guidelines, recommendations, or standards for nonoccupational or public noise exposure.36 The occupational recommended or permissible noise exposure limits are often cited as being safe for the public.37,38.
For example, the
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders still states, “…long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss.”39 This statement is true, but misleading. Application of occupational standards to the public is Figure 1. Map of natural conditions. From U.S. National Park Service.22 inappropriate because the risk of hearing loss is too great for the public. The 85 dBA recommended exposure limit for occupational noise proposed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health11 is associated with an 8% excess risk of material hearing impairment, while 90 dBA (the permissible exposure limit according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration32) is associated with a 25% excess risk.
D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 6 While it is unlikely that members of the public will be exposed to 85 or 90 dBA noise for 8 hours/day, 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year, for 40 years, everyone is exposed to noise continuously, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year, from birth to death for an entire lifetime. The only evidence-based safe noise level was calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1974, a time-weighted average of 70 dB for 24 hours.33 The actual safe noise level to prevent noise-induced hearing loss may be as low as 55 dBA for a single noise event, and only 55-60 dB for a day.34 Not understanding the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale, many people are likely to expose their ears to higher sound pressure levels >85 dBA for brief to longer time periods.30,31
Just as sun or ultraviolet light exposure causes photoaging of the skin, noise exposure causes noise-induced aging of the auditory system. Age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis, is not part of normal physiological aging but is the result of a lifetime of cumulative excessive noise exposure.40,41 Impulse noise may have a disproportionate impact on hearing, for workers and almost assuredly for the public.42 The noise exposure levels causing tinnitus and hyperacusis have not been established, but avoidance of noise causing hearing loss will most likely prevent development of these other auditory disorders. Even lower levels of noise exposure, not known to cause auditory damage, may have adverse effects on brain function.43 Since the publication of the previous paper4, the evidence of the harmful non-auditory health effects of noise has continued to mount. Transportation noise was shown to damage human health, with aviation noise having the most serious adverse effects..44 Noise disrupting sleep has particularly deleterious effects.45 In a study conducted in Zurich, nighttime aircraft noise from specific flights was directly linked to heart attacks.46,47 The COVID-19 lockdowns provided a natural experiment48 in which human physiological variables and animal behavior could be compared before lockdowns and during quieter lockdown times, largely due to a marked reduction in transportation noise.49,50 Multiple studies reported changes in bird song and animal behavior, demonstrating again that environmental noise pollution had adverse effects on animals.51,52,53 Noise can even affect plants, not directly but by changing the feeding behaviors of birds and small mammals, thereby changing seed dispersal.54 For all these reasons, harm must be included in a much-needed revised comprehensive definition of noise.
PROPOSED NEW COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION OF NOISE
Incorporating language from the 2019 new definition of noise4 and the ASA/ANSI definition2, a revised comprehensive new definition of noise is proposed. The revised definition differentiates between the effects of noise on living things, and the technical and scientific definitions of noise:
D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 7 Noise: a) For living things, noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. b) In engineering and electronics, noise is any unwanted disturbance within a useful frequency band, such as undesired electric waves in a transmission channel or device. c) In scientific measurements, noise is erratic, intermittent, or statistically random oscillation.
Annotation 1. If ambiguity exists as to the nature of the noise a phrase such as acoustic noise” or “electric noise” should be used.
Annotation 2. Since definitions (a) and (b) are not mutually exclusive, it is usually necessary to depend upon context for the distinction.
Some additional explanation may be helpful. The idea behind the proposed new comprehensive definition is to make a clear distinction between noise and sound.
Sound is useful and meaningful. Noise is not. Sound at safe listening levels can become noise at harmful levels. Unwanted sound should always be viewed as noise because it is stressful, and stress is bad for human and animal health.
Two special uses of sound must be mentioned. Sound can be used for masking other sounds, as in sound masking treatment for tinnitus55 or sound masking devices for speech privacy in offices.56 Unless it is great enough to cause auditory damage, such use of sound does not meet the criterion for harm in the proposed new definition.
Pseudorandom noise may be used in signal processing or cryptography.57 This noise does not meet the criteria of definition a), because it does not affect living things, and is probably covered under clause c) of the proposed new definition.
CONCLUSION
There can be no rational doubt that noise exposure affects human health. This is true whether the noise exposure is voluntary, from listening to loud music or attending rock concerts or motor sports events, or involuntary, from transportation noise pollution.
Noise also affects animals and plants. A definition of noise that fails to mention harm is obsolete, incomplete, and perhaps harmful in itself. A complete definition of noise is necessary for science, for individual and public health, and for the environment.
An updated definition of noise may help increase awareness of the dangers of noise for legislators, regulators, and especially for the American public. Increased awareness of the dangers of noise may lead to efforts to reduce both voluntary and involuntary noise exposure, just as awareness of the dangers of tobacco smoke led to successful efforts to reduce both cigarette smoking and unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke. As the scientific evidence of the harm noise causes for living things increases, clause a) may eventually be shortened to just for living things, noise is harmful sound. It is hoped that a revised comprehensive new definition of noise will empower acoustics professionals, regulators, and the public to work towards a quieter world, a better and healthier world for all.
D. Fink Comprehensive New Definition of Noise Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 54, 040013 (2025). Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank David Sykes for his editorial assistance with this manuscript and my colleagues at Quiet Communities, Inc., The Quiet Coalition, and the Acoustics Policy Review Committee at the Facility Guidelines Institute, which Mr. Sykes chaired. A detailed history of the evolution of the first version of the new definition of noise is contained in the Acknowledgements of the earlier paper on this topic. That history unfortunately omitted what may have been the first proposal to redefine noise, an unsigned Quiet Communities, Inc. blog post written by Mr. Sykes posted on May 9, 2018. Review of emails and pre-posting drafts of the blog post confirm that the idea that noise needed to be redefined to include harm originated in discussions between Mr.
Sykes and Arline Bronzaft PhD.58 I have no conflicts to disclose.
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