Noise Pollution: An Overlooked Hazard in Modern Society

While the mainstream media and the general public go gung-ho about air, water and land pollution, a similar threat is often neglected. There is little debate about it, and no initiatives have been taken to eradicate it. This threat is a modern-era problem created by us humans. It is noise pollution. 

Noise pollution began with man moving the mode of production from hands to machines and the mode of travel from carts to motorised vehicles. Noise pollution is defined as unwanted or disturbing sound that adversely affects the well-being of humans and animals. 

The unit of sound is decibels (dB). A whisper is 30 dB, whereas the sound of thunder is 120 dB. Sounds above 85 dB are harmful for human ears. The wail of a train engine (90 to 115 dB), heavy city traffic (85 dB), electric drill (95 dB), etc., are harmful to us. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sound above 65 dB is noise pollution. Anything above 75 dB is dangerous and at 120 dB the noise becomes painful. 

Noise pollution affects humans and other organisms alike. Children, the elderly, and chronically ill patients are most vulnerable to it. This silent killer, which affects millions worldwide, has become an epidemic due to rising human activities.  

Types of Noise Pollution

Depending on the noise source, there are various types of noise pollution. 

1. Environmental Noise Pollution—Noise from natural events such as thunderstorms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, and animal cries is environmental noise pollution. 

2. Vehicular Noise Pollution - Noise from vehicular transmission, honking, airports,  etc., causes vehicular noise pollution. This noise pollution is increasing as more vehicles are plying our roads than before. It has also become one of the most dangerous forms of noise pollution owing to its significant impact on well-being. People living near busy airports or traffic junctions are found to have more stress, headaches, heart ailments, hypertension, and other ailments due to high levels of noise.

3. Industrial Noise Pollution - Noise from various industrial processes creates industrial noise pollution. Some industries with high noise pollution are mining and quarrying, because of the blasting techniques to mine minerals; the iron and steel industry; the shipbuilding industry; and industries that use noisy machinery such as crushes, grinders and other heavy machinery, etc. Workers in these industries are at the risk of getting Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).

4. Community Noise Pollution—This noise pollution arises from loudspeakers, transistors, musical instruments, public TVs, and other sources. Partying outdoors, music concerts, wedding processions, sports celebrations, and other activities all cause community noise pollution. 

5. Indoor Noise Pollution - The WHO recommends noise levels of 30 dB inside homes for sound sleep. For studying and concentration, it is 35 dB. But in the modern era, we seldom achieve the recommended noise levels. Our day-to-day appliances create noise, with some breaching the noise threshold to become hazardous. Some of these are TVs, generators, air conditioners, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, family conflicts, etc. 

Apart from these noise pollution occurs during war, weapons testing, rocket launches, and experimental activities.  

Effects of Noise Pollution on Humans

Noise pollution has detrimental effects on humans. It affects the old and the young alike. Particularly vulnerable to loud noises are toddlers, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses. The various effects of noise pollution on humans are:

1. Hearing loss - Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the most threatening effect of noise pollution. Loud sudden sounds like gunshots or fireworks can damage the inner ear causing hearing loss. It can be temporary or permanent hearing loss. Listening to music over headphones at high volumes also causes hearing loss. 

2. Health effects - Documentary evidence suggests that noise pollution causes various health issues in humans. Loud noises are found to activate the stress response systems of the body and activate the body's endocrine and autonomic nervous systems. This leads to irregularities in heart functioning ultimately causing cardiovascular diseases. Noise also causes metabolic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, etc.  

3. Cognitive disturbances - Noise pollution is found to cause mental illnesses such as anxiety, stress, mental instability, anger, argumentativeness, mood swings, hysteria, psychosis and others. Children and the elderly are the most affected due to a lack of coping mechanisms. 

4. Sleep disturbances - A good night’s sleep is essential for brain health and the overall well-being of an individual. However, noise pollution causes sleep disturbances in the form of inability to fall asleep, frequent awakening in the middle of sleep, alterations in the sleep depth and early awakening. Poor sleep affects the mental and physical health of everyone irrespective of age.

5. Workplace accidents - Excessive noise in industrial settings leads to poor communication among workers and may lead to accidents. Moreover, high noise pollution is a cause of hearing impairments among workers. Also, it leads to low productivity as noise pollution is known to impair task performance. 

With dedicated research on the impact of noise pollution on human health, scientists are now providing new information on its health effects and ways to reduce it.  

Ways to Reduce Noise Pollution 

Noise pollution is all pervasive and needs the collective effort of individuals, institutions, communities and the government to reduce it. First use sound meters to measure the amount of noise in an area and plan noise alleviation measures accordingly.

Some steps to reduce noise pollution are:

1. Increase green belts around industrial areas and busy city spaces to reduce acoustic energy. Vegetation helps diffuse noise and absorb it. Tree cover or vegetation cover can be increased by developing city parks. 

2. Plan residential areas away from transport facilities like railways and airports.

3. Establish silent zones around schools, hospitals and residential areas. 

4. Regulate traffic movements during peak hours. For example, city administrations can take steps to allow heavy vehicles only at night to offload the goods. 

5. Avoid watching TV, or listening to music at high volumes. 

6. While partying, reduce the volume of transistors or amplifiers. 

7. Regular maintenance of machines and vehicles will reduce wear and tear and thereby the noise they produce. 

8. Insulate a residential compound with twenty feet of tree cover belts. 

9. Shifting to low noise generating vehicles like electric vehicles. 

10. The government must build more pedestrian areas to minimize vehicle usage. 

11. Workers must be provided with noise-cancelling earplugs for protection. 

12. Avoid using power tools, loudspeakers, heavy machinery, construction, etc., during night times. 

13. Install insulating materials in new buildings. 

14. Bring regulations to minimize the use of firecrackers.

15. Strict enforcement of Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. 

Noise pollution, the modern-day menace, must be dealt with firmly. Creating awareness right from a very young age is the first step in dealing with noise pollution. Schools are the right platforms to spread awareness and develop habits and lifestyles among students that will generate less noise. It is time for action on this silent killer.