Leaf blowers are pointless intsruments used to slowly push dust & good organic matter out of the garden where they can do a lot of good - onto the street from which they will blow back to wherever the wind wants to take them, or -into bags where they will do no good & do a lot of bad by using up the plastic & taking up space in a landfill.
The noise is atrocious--as loud as a helicopter & as shrill as a drill, it goes on for hours & hours as indifferent gardeners, with earpads on, push debris slowly down stairs step by step, along a path, onto the curb-- actions that could be accomplished in one quarter of the time with a rake or a broom. The gardeners across the street from me blow dust off every car parked on the block in front of the condominiums they care for. And when they are at work in the courtyard the sound is enhanced, & audible for blocks.
But every hour of every day "gardeners" all across California are wasting enrgy, creating pollution & making unbearable noise.

Do you really want to help? Can't you just give me the names of some doctors in my area without asking me for personal information.

I live in a little town, but i'm surrounded by noises everywhere, specially in my work place. I work in a shopping mall, so we have very loud music from different shops and halls, shouts, loudspeakers... I really feel like i'm loosing hearing. Only in when I go to my little village I have soft sounds arround... I'd love to be there right now!

Meiner Meinung nach wird unser Alltag immer lauter! Mit dem Fortschritt der Technik werden scheinbar immer mehr Geräte entwickelt, die Lärm verursachen. Dabei gäbe es doch längst Lösungen, um große Städte wie NY zumindest in Verkehrsangelegenheiten zu beruhigen - z. B. durch Elektro-Autos oder Segways. Man kann ja ohnehin nicht schnell fahren.
Ich persönlich wünsche mich manchmal zurück in die Zeit, in der die Straßen von Pferdekutschen und Hochrädern befahren wurden. Zu diesen Zeiten musste man sicher nicht 20 km aufs Land fahren, um einen ruhigen Ort zu finden. Aber selbst am Waldrand zerstören heute laute Sportflugzeuge, Düsenflieger und Kettensägen die Ruhe...

Hello Doris,
You can count yourself lucky if you have a silent balcony!
Unfortunately there are rarely places where you can relax and listen to nature. I live in a big city. Though my apartment is not close to a huge street, I always have sounds of cars in my ear.

I have never been to New York but I can imagine how loud the city is. Even here in my small town in Germany we have very noisy places like the main street or the main station. The best place to relax and listen to the nature is at home on my little balcony or in the small park near my apartment. I also enjoy to turn on my mp3 player while I have to walk through near noisy places.