Fast jet noise affects kids learning abilities

[tartare]

Now Health and Safety really has reached absurd levels.
No military power settings over the childcare centres please.
Bloody hell, if they'd been around when I was a nipper, you wouldn't have been able to get me inside to have my glass of milk!
They're kids on a military base for God's sake.
What is the world coming to...


Defence at RAAF bases Amberley, Darwin and Williamtown have shifted their Workplace Health and Safety priorities from pilots to preschoolers as emerging research suggests children may be more sensitive to aircraft noise than adults.

The research prompted the Australian Defence Force to initiate specialised noise assessments at childcare centres on these bases in order to collect data for audiology experts to make a better assessment of the childcare locations.

Group Captain Richard Lennon said although the ADF continually maintains noise and flight path monitoring programs, assessments were only adjusted for the concerned children just recently.

"We conducted a number of noise assessments at childcare bases where we have fast jets such as Amberley," Group Captain Lennon said.

"The idea is to measure the total noise around the childcare centre, including the children themselves, who are a significant source of noise, in order to be able to minimise the effects of overall noise exposure.

"What we've found so far is that while noise levels are lower than the acceptable national standard, that is only established for adults and it's still unclear what it is for children, as emerging research remains inconclusive."

As defined by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, the acceptable limit for ongoing noise exposure is 85 decibels, while the peak noise for an instantaneous event such as a fast jet is 140 decibels.

While long-term exposure to this kind of excessive, instantaneous noise primarily leads to noise-induced hearing loss in adults, there may be other underlying dangers for children.

"Children may not suffer hearing loss at the levels of noise exposure prescribed for adults, but they could have other cognitive difficulties and learning difficulties related to being distracted or disrupted by the noise," Group Captain Lennon said.

According to Group Captain Lennon, all parents of children in the base childcare have been made aware of the noise assessment and have expressed no concerns, either with the assessment, or their child's health and wellbeing.

"We've never received any reports or concerns of children suffering hearing loss or learning or cognitive difficulties," Group Captain Lennon said.

"The advisory we received, which is based on emerging research, says the risk is very small. This is just a precaution to make sure we are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the children and their learning environment."

Defence already implements a 'Fly Neighbourly' policy to guide air crews to train and operate safely while reducing the impact of noise on the general community, while the childcare centres have already begun countering noise exposure with simple adjustments.

"We're already finding it's simple to schedule the children's outdoor playtime for periods that are relatively quiet during the day," Group Captain Lennon said.

"Childcare staff have also found that if they play background music in the centre, especially during rest time, there's less distraction and a more consistent noise environment for the children to live in."

[Herod]

Fast jet noise affects kids learning abilities

Yep, it makes them want to become fast-jet pilots. :) At least it did with me. Never made fast-jets, but had a long flying career; wouldn't have missed it for the world.

[treadigraph]

Yep, used to disturb my concentration every time Mr Farley and his colleagues flew past my school, testing Harriers and Hawks from Dunsfold. Never could resist peering out of the window to the huge ire of my maths teachers. Still don't understand algebra...

:ok:

[SHornet]

The sound of a fast-jet in full military power is just wonderful. Kids need to hear it more, not less.

[Union Jack]

The sound of a fast-jet in full military power is just wonderful. Kids need to hear it more, not less. - SHornet

Miss! Miss! Please, Miss! My dad says it's the sound of freedom!:D

Jack

[Dan Gerous]

Is there any truth in the story that when 43 finished a Bolthole to Kinloss in 78/79, they let all the schools away early,(lunchtime). Rumour was they were going to beat the sh1t out off the airfield on departure.

[NutLoose]

Where did they do the survey, Syria? the Ukraine?

[chopper2004]

Ummmm the ADF has more immediate problems

Defence Abuse Response Taskforce exposes horrific accounts of abuse | News.com.au (http://mobile.news.com.au/national/defence-abuse-response-taskforce-exposes-horrific-accounts-of-abuse/story-fncynjr2-1227135830339)

On a lighter note what is the sign outside Cherry Point and Lakenheath both say "Pardon the Noise, it is the Sound of Freedom"

Cheers

[tartare]

Shornet - could not agree more.
My favourite - the Hunter and its blue note - pukka fast jet noise.
Only to be eclipsed by the first time one hears the deep booming roar of a Merlin, and then realises why people love the Spitfire so much.
The sound of full military jet power is the sort of thing that makes a huge impression on a young kid.
Raw power - marvellous stuff.

[langleybaston]

Certainly does affect the nippers.

RAF Guetersloh two of Hunter squadrons, two of Lightning, one of choppers ......my four cowering in Zeppelin Strasse:

1. Maths Leeds 2.1 now Head of Maths

2. Supermarket manager

3. ex-Met Police Equitation Instructor, retired

4. Health visitor, two of BSc 2.1, RGN, RHV.

Just think how they might have turned out without that nasty noise.

[Willard Whyte]

I'd rather my children designed the things than flew them.

[oldpax]

I grew up near RAF Acklington ,not just merlins but goblins and ghosts!!Could always tell the difference !No child care centres then only schools!!

[Kluseau]

Hm... I was, according to family folklore, nearly dropped by the midwife in the nursing home at Coltishall when a Javelin, with, allegedly, my late father in the back seat, flew over low. Spent much of the next 18 years subjected to fast jet noise in places as diverse as Tengah, Watton (OK, slow jet noise), Binbrook and Gutersloh, and never felt adversely affected by the experience.

[Sandy Parts]

Guess all those years at Kent School, BFES Germany mean I must be due compensation. Luckily I struggled through and managed to even sign for a jet eventually. Some days I think we should have full control of 'research' and direct it to useful purposes - especially if occurring in a taxpayer funded university.

[CoodaShooda]

Sounds like someone's angling for funding to keep employed for a few more years. He can answer his question about the effect on young children by checking RAAF publications.

CoodaKid3 (now Pilot Officer RAAF) was used as a pin-up boy by Defence Recruiting a couple of years back.

He was quoted as saying that he decided to become an airforce pilot at the age of 6, while sitting at the end of 11/29 Darwin with dad, watching the jets participating in Pitch Black take-off and land over his head.

Said jets would have included B-52, F-111, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Harrier, Mirage 2000, Jaguar and KC-135. Plenty of close range jet noise to chose from and it doesn't appear to have affected his development.

(Of course the little bugger didn't tell his dad at the time. I had to read about it in the newspaper 15 years later.)

[5aday]

Acklington, Middleton, Stradishall, Waterbeach, Waddington, Gutersloh, Waddington again (well N. Hykeham really). Totally screwed up my education - all I could think of was jets and more jets. Imagine 8 Javelins OR 12 Venoms joining over Waterbeach villageCounty Primary School. I never had a chance.
Anyone who could quote poetry or Words(worth) was a cissy.

[Sun Who]

I'd rather my children designed the things than flew them. I'd rather my kids designed and flew them, but that might be asking a bit much.:)

Sun

[Sleeve Wing]

I was already hooked and into the diesel control-line model building by 2nd. year at grammar school.
Regular as clockwork - Harvards - very low level - southbound down the railway line.
My chosen seat near the window nearly ruined my prospects of a decent Latin 'O' Level!
Latin mistress complained I was "plane-crazy" !!

"Got me an FJ job though, Miss." :ok: :cool:

[Willard Whyte]

I'd rather my kids designed and flew them, but that might be asking a bit much.

Some of my kid's designs... hmm...

[Tankertrashnav]

Miss! Miss! Please, Miss! My dad says it's the sound of freedom!


Johnny, do tell your dad to avoid worn out cliches :*

That said, regular overflights by Vulcan 588 would certainly liven up boring lessons!

[Dysonsphere]

Hmmm it gets worse next it will be the fast moving planes affect their poor little eyes plz fly slower near schools.:ugh:

[teeteringhead]

But on the other hand, the morning Concorde used to disrupt lessons/lectures at the Staff College at Bracknell - which might explain a lot about our VSOs ..... ;)

[and NO - I didn't do ASC at Bracknell!!]

[Wander00]

Twenty odd years ago I visited Widecombe Fair in Devon. They had a fancy dress competition, of which the winner was young lad clad in a cardboard replica of a Tornado with a stick out of the "jet pipe" and a flag emblazoned "ban low flying jets!" I like to think he won purely on the excellence of his costume rather than the message.

[air pig]

A friend at work used to go to school near Rheindahlen, during lessons teacher would say 'work quietly' Jaguars overhead to landing, teacher recommenced 30 minutes later 'work quietly' Jaguars taking off. Happened every school day. Never did her any harm, she was far cleverer than I and refused my dishonourable blandishments:{:{:{:E:E:E

[tartare]

Teeters - now THAT was a loud jet.
Small paper dart like shape off in the distance.
Sky shattering roar of four Olympus's.
While we were still living in London in early 2003, Tartaret, who was then very small used to stay with his grandmother in Twickenham.
The speedbird from JFK used to arrive regular as clockwork in the afternoon, and he'd toddle outside, point and say with great glee `Concorde!'
Never did him any harm.

[Mr C Hinecap]

I understand that the advances in science can scare some of the older generation so this might not seem reasonable to some of the more mature posters here. I understand that in your youth, nothing killed you. You could smoke, lick lead-painted walls, drink from lead pipes and live in asbestos-laden houses without any trouble at all. It's only this namby-pamby generation with their new-fangled knowledge and research and science that suffer from ills such as asbestosis, lung cancer etc. Then again, we've not got polio and other diseases because someone did some research and advanced things on a little.
As a father of a young one, I am more than happy to read of such research. Pick something else to be outraged about, like the rising price of Worthers Originals.

[fedex727]

My better half and later our 3 children all grew up on or around UK and RAFG airfields. Not only did they get their uni degrees, but also learned to lip read during Tornado 4 ship take offs and circuits. :ok:

[langleybaston]

QUOTE:

Pick something else to be outraged about, like the rising price of Worthers Originals.

Something buggered your spelling though!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Overheard a few years back:
Prospective Parents being conducted round the school. Four fast jets scream over the playing fields and disappear down the valley.
Parent "What are those?"
Schoolgirl guide (grinning) "Harriers, and my dad's flying the back left one."

[OvertHawk]

Fast jet noise certainly has an effect on children's education.

I grew up in service schools surrounded by it and it definitely impeded the development of my German and Russian language skills! ;) :D

[AnglianAV8R]

This has brought back all the trauma of enduring the racket of tin triangles at low level over our school at Ay-Nik.

The trauma has hung over me like a dark cloud for over forty years.

My solicitor will be instructed forthwith.

[CoffmanStarter]

Good old Mr Barry Smith (ex RAF Officer) ... my Metalwork Master ... he loved demonstrating his Ramjet ... so did we :}

[Bob Viking]

Is that last post meant to have a hint of creepy paedo to it? Maybe it's just the way I read it!

BV:E

[CoffmanStarter]

Naughty Boy Bob ... :=

[ryano]

"We've never received any reports or concerns of children suffering hearing loss or learning or cognitive difficulties,".....

Ahhhh right. So why is this study required then? Who has been allowed to build another ivory tower within the ADF? How does this improve capability? Let's get back to business. Too many people have long forgotten what the core mission actually is.

http://m.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/defence-wasteful-and-top-heavy-experts/story-e6frg8yo-1227277195876

[Danny42C]

Was a rumour at Geilenkirchen ('60) that prolonged exposure to high frequency noise had an effect on the male gonads, leading to a large preponderance of female babies in the new generation.

Experience over the next two years seemed to bear this out.

[BEagle]

Danny42C wrote: Was a rumour at Geilenkirchen ('60) that prolonged exposure to high frequency noise had an effect on the male gonads, leading to a large preponderance of female babies in the new generation.

Hence the famous comment:

"Fighter pilots always have daughters.....and I've just had yours!" :E

[Danny42C]

BEagle,

I've got one - and you weren't lucky with mine !

Danny.

[NickPilot]

Just to add to the chorus of people saying this is ridiculous…

I grew up in the uncharted wastelands of North Yorkshire where Vulcans, Phantoms, and Buccs flew over our school at ridiculously low altitude and ridiculously high speed on a near daily basis…did it affect me?

Hell yes it did!!

Horrendous eyesight took the military out of my reach but I was an airline Captain at 29 and have spent the last 9 years of my career as an instructor in a major airline training department.

So did jet noise affect me…? I'd say so.

[Lima Juliet]

I think this is 'noisest' in that it discriminates against different types of noises...

That's like, unfair...

Yes, blood, surely all noises is a distraction and not just jet noise, and all that? So let's live, like, in total silence, like monks and sh!t, and then we won't have to listen to the bleat of the yoghurt-knitting Guardianista whinge on about nonsense like this...isn't it?

Random...it's like, against noise and rights and that...

Word...

LJ :ok:

With a nod to...
http://www.comedy.co.uk/images/library/comedies/180x200/t/the_armstrong_and_miller_show.jpg

[condor17]

Hey guys SPEAK UP , getting a bit deaf now ... no , it was not the Buccs , Harriers , Frightnings or Varsities trundling past the physics lab window . More likely the said masters blackboard rubber hitting my skull , or 44 years and counting of professional aviating .
Offspring was also seriously affected by being subjected to a twice daily Concorde + LHR's various noisy offerings .
He's suffering so badly , that he's enjoying life in the RHS of various Orange flavoured baby buses .

rgds condor .