- Estimated that 120 million worldwide people have hearing difficulties.
- Population growth and loss of rural land due to urban sprawl contributes to growing noise pollution; other causes include lack of adequate anti-noise regulations, electronics, vehicles on the road, and busier airports
- The U.S EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) identified transportation (vehicles, trains, buses, motorcycles, trucks, aircraft, etc.) as one of the most pervasive outdoor noise sources
- More than 100 million people in the United States are exposed to noise sources from traffic near their homes.
- Sound intensity is measured in decibels (dB); A-weighted dB (dBA) is used to indicate how humans hear a given sound.
- In the U.S, 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous sound levels on the job, mainly from construction, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and the military
- Secondhand noise: noise that is experienced by people who did not produce it
- exceeds 85 dBA, which is the average noise exposure measured over a typical eight-hour work day.
- Exposure to certain levels of sound can damage hearing; it can even change the structure of hair cells in the inner ear, resulting in hearing loss
- 12 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a ringing/roaring/buzzing/clicking sound in the ears
- Non-auditory effects of noise exposure: elevated blood pressure, loss of sleep, increased heart rate, cardiovascular constriction, labored breathing, changes in brain chemistry; these can lead to reduced productivity, decreased
performance in learning, increased drug use, and accidents - Noise Control Act of 1972 empowered EPA to determine noise limits to protect public health, and establish a noise control office: Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC)
- Excessive noise exposure in the uterus may cause high-frequency hearing loss in newborns. Noise exposure has also been linked to chronic changes in blood pressure and heart rate and can cause learning problems.
Summary:
Noise can be estimated that 120 million worldwide people have hearing difficulties. This hearing difficulties are caused by population growth and loss of rural land due to urban sprawl contributes to growing noise pollution; other causes include lack of adequate anti-noise regulations, electronics, vehicles on the road, and busier airports. The sound intensity can be measured in decibels (dB); A-weighted dB (dBA) is used to indicate how humans hear a given sound. There are about 30 million workers in the U.S., are exposed to hazardous sound levels on the job, mainly from construction, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and the military. Also, 12 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a ringing/roaring/buzzing/clicking sound in the ears. Exposure to specific level of sound can damage hearing, resulting in hearing loss. In fact, noise can cause other health issues to besides difficulty in hearing, there are elevated blood pressure, loss of sleep, increased heart rate, cardiovascular constriction, labored breathing, changes in brain chemistry; these can lead to reduced productivity, decreased performance in learning, increased drug use, and accidents. Luckily, EPA established a noise control office: Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC)
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My Reflection:
After reading this article, I'm not aware that noise can cause health issues except difficulty in hearing. I always see people have their earphones or headphones on, and I can hear what their music their listening to because of how loud the volume is. I know that there is a specific volume that a person can damage their hearing but I don't know that it's very serious. This is one of the problems that are caused by human growth population, and mostly people are being affected by it.