Saudi Gazette Noise is everywhere: the TV in your living room, the traffic outside, the music in the restaurant, the air conditioner in your bedroom. While some sounds are perceived to be pleasant, the presence of unwanted sounds – as noise is defined – is so ubiquitous that health professionals and policy makers have increasingly become concerned about the health effects of noise. These effects go beyond annoyance or even impaired hearing, although that is to be taken seriously as well. In Europe, it is estimated that three percent of deaths from ischemic heart disease – mostly strokes and heart attacks – is caused by long-term exposure to traffic noise. That's correct: noise may lead to cardiovascular disease. Read on to find out how noise may affect your health. 1. Hearing loss An estimated 10 percent of the world population is exposed to sound pressure levels that could cause noise-induced hearing loss, making this a public health problem – and an expensive one, that is. While noise at work, officially termed occupational noise exposure, has traditionally been a major cause of noise-induced hearing loss, social noise exposure has tripled since the 1980s, especially among adolescents. Two main culprits are the use of personal music players and the attendance of loud events. Noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs are a simple, effective and important solution for this, because noise-induced hearing loss is irreversible. 2. Interrupted sleep One of the consequences of increased urbanization worldwide is a rise in sleep disturbances. Indeed, studies suggest that environmental noise is one of the major causes of disturbed sleep, whether it means difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings, or waking too early. But even if you are able to sleep through the noise, your body still reacts to sounds by raising levels of stress hormones. The short-term results are decreased alertness, depressed mood, and decreased performance, which may in turn lead to accidents and injuries. The long-term effects of interrupted sleep are worse and include cardiovascular disease. 3. Mental health While scientists think noise pollution is not a cause of mental health issues, it can certainly aggravate latent mental disorders by causing stress, anxiety, emotional instability, and neurosis. This may affect especially the elderly, children and those with underlying depression, who have more difficulty coping with noise and may be annoyed more easily. 4. Cognitive performance Children in particular are affected by noise in a different way as well: Growing up in a noisy home or attending a noisy school leads to decreased cognitive performance. A study from 2002 by the U.S. Department of transportation concluded that mental performance is impaired when homes or schools are near a highway or airport; another study carried out in 2000 found that language development and reading achievement were diminished among children living in noisy homes, even if the schools they attended were not noisier than average. However, noise affects adults' cognitive performance at work as well by increasing errors and decreasing motivation. 5. Cardiovascular issues Perhaps the most worrisome effect of noise pollution for humans is the increase in cardiovascular disease. Prolonged exposure to noise, it appears, increases stress hormone levels, which leads to increased heart beat rate, hypertension and high cholesterol – major risk factors for strokes and heart attack. Although the increased possibility of fatal disease may be small, the fact that noise pollution continues to be on the rise means it is a problem significant enough to require action by governments. But what are the solutions? As noise is so omnipresent, there is not one easy way to cut it out. Our society needs to change to be less noisy. Barriers need to be placed to diminish noise from traffic; airports need to be built away from residential areas. There are certain things you can do at home, though. Turn off the devices you don't use; limit the use of background noise – including T.V. and sounds from computers. This is especially important in the bedroom, when even light buzzes may disturb a good night's sleep.
