"Boom cars," as they're sometimes called, are especially popular in Onslow County where young men make up the largest share of the population.

"There is something about the way a big system sounds," said Jason Littleton, a 20-year-old lance corporal stationed at Camp Lejeune. "For me it's the feeling it gives you. I can't describe it. But I just like it."

On this recent day, Littleton is spending $700 to install new speakers in his car. When it's all said and done, Littleton's mobile stereo will be capable of discharging 1,800 watts of sound.

"To me it's fun," he said. "When I pull up next to someone and hear how loud their bass is, I like it, and it makes me want to go louder than them."

Lowering 'the boom'

But what's fun for Littleton is misery for Bob and Teresa Bythewood of Richlands. The couple is at the center of a battle in their town over tougher laws for the noise created by boom cars. Town officials talked about measures regarding nuisances but eventually voted down the amendments.

The Bythewoods originally brought the protest forward and say they won't let it rest. The two have found support in a national "soundscape advocacy," found at the Web site www.lowertheboom.org, created by activist Les Bird. Bird recently wrote a letter to the Richlands Board of Aldermen offering his expertise on boom car noise and urging the town to take action against it.

"I am writing to support your efforts, help educate, promote community and individual health, and enhance the quality of life of your citizens, many of whom, I guarantee you, are truly suffering both physical and psychological stress," Bird wrote in the letter.

After outlining specific effects of this type of stress on the body, Bird said that "the only remaining questions are, really, whether you are willing to do something about it and when it will be done."

'We need to be courteous'

To Littleton, the idea of stricter laws and fines isn't a bad one, so long as the "quiet areas" are posted with signs, he said.

"We do have the right to have big systems," he said. "But we do need to be courteous of other people, and I will."

Littleton said the key is respect.

"If I was driving through a neighborhood, I would have the decency to turn my system down," Littleton said. "I wouldn't want someone to do that to me."

He enjoys cranking up the bass when driving on busy city roads or out in the country, but said he would be respectful in neighborhoods or at stoplights.

Stores like Audio Plus on Western Boulevard install numerous big sound systems. Manager Bernie Rosage Jr. said customers buy big amplifiers and subwoofers for controlled competitions, called dB drag racing, which he said is the proper place for them.

"With me it boils down to just having good manners," Rosage said.

David Baldridge, owner of Onslow Audio on Western Boulevard, agreed.

"At Onslow Audio we feel that our customers have the right to enhance their car stereos and enjoy their music," said Baldridge, who has seen the number of boom cars grow since the late 1980s. "But in respect to your fellow citizens, turn down the volume when passing through residential areas and at stoplights."

He tries to remind customers to practice "safe sound" by being respectful and aware that loud music for a sustained period may cause hearing damage.

What's that ringing?

"Boom Car Noise," a publication on sound written by Patrice Thomas, reports that the normal decibel level of boom cars is between 120 and 140.

Dr. Murvin Hymel, a Jacksonville audiologist, said music at that level means definite damage to the ears. He equated the type of hearing loss to that suffered by construction workers or those employed on an aviation flightline.

"Anything over 90 decibels, if prolonged, can have an adverse affect," Hymel said. "Anything over 130 decibels can have an immediate effect."

Over time, frequent exposure to low frequency sound damages the inner ear's moving parts.

"It's like blowing a speaker," Hymel said. "These parts are really important in hearing vowels. People with that kind of hearing loss are getting the wrong information. They say 'I can hear you, but I can't understand you.'

"Every little bit adds up over time," Hymel said. "It's not immediate, but later in life they'll pay the price, and then they'll come see me and complain about the cost of hearing aids."

Even so, Littleton said he will continue to enjoy loud music.

"I'm around loud guns and machinery all the time as a mechanic," he said. "The music is no worse. I'm not concerned about it."

A matter of respect

Boom cars cause other problems too, said Dr. Arline Bronzaft, a psychologist and author who has researched the effects of noise for 30 years.

"It affects those bothered by it physiologically and psychologically," said Bronzaft, who chairs the New York City Council on the Environment.

She said the constant noise can not only cause stress, but can eventually lead to ulcers and cardiovascular disease.

"If people who are experiencing constant noise can't go on doing the things they're supposed to do in a home, like sleep or read or talk to family members, then their quality of life is diminishing, and they're not really living a healthy lifestyle," Bronzaft said.

That's what the Bythewoods believe, too. They plan to bring the issue before the town again in February.

"We're starting a new petition," Teresa Bythewood said. "It will be presented at the next town meeting. We are also going to start a concerned citizens watch around town. We want to encourage people to call the police, because they do care."

But in the end the issue always comes back to respect.

"That is why I wrote a children's book on noise," Bronzaft said. "We need to start young and educate children and teach them about respect. We need to teach them that they have a right to listen to their music - that isn't wrong - but that they can't intrude on other people with it."

By Chrissy Ingram, The Daily News
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