Noise Pollution: What it is, Causes, Effects and Solutions

Noise pollution is generally referred to as regularized exposure to an elevated level of sound that might eventually lead to adverse effects within humans or other forms of living organisms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), levels of sound, which are less than a count of 70 dB, do not cause any damage to any of the living organisms, keeping aside the amount of time for which the organism is exposed to such a sound level. More than 8 hours of exposure to a constant volume of sound beyond the level of 85 dB might be hampering the health of an individual. Working constantly for more than 8 hours a day near a busy road or might be a highway will generally tend for the individual to reduce the power of hearing in a gradual manner. Since working beside a busy road or a highway is expected to create more noise beyond the 85 dB sound level. The effects of noise pollution has been rising to a greater level with the increase of population and vehicles bought by individuals that run on the streets regularly.

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Some of the familiar sources of noise pollution regarding the current situation have been highlighted in the following points for a better understanding.

• Noise generated from traffic on the road such as cars, ambulances, buses as well as other kinds of a pedestrian.
• Constantly elevated sound generated from airports due to aeroplanes taking off and landing also causes considerable noise.
• Consistent manner of loud music.
• Household sounds from the television sets for playing music on the stereo or the constant music played in nightclubs and other pubs.
• Events that primarily involve loudspeakers, fireworks as well as firecrackers.
• Sounds generated at a workplace and in offices that are open-spaced.
• Sounds generated from household items such as the likes of television, washing machine, fans, vacuum cleaners, coolers as well as stereo computers.
• The sound coming from the traffic of train stations.

Effects of noise pollution can be of varying types depending on the source of the same as well as the organisms exposed to such elevated sound levels.

Human diseases as an effect of noise pollution:

Some of the effects that noise pollution have on humans have been highlighted in the following points,

• Hypertension: exposure to direct noise for a long time might incur hypertension in such individuals due to noise pollution.
• Loss of hearing: being exposed to a constant sound source above the 85 dB mark of sound level might eventually make the individual lose hearing and end in partial deafness for a prolonged period.
• Dementia: This is a condition in humans that might not be caused due to noise pollution, but certainly, noise pollution can be considered the onset of the condition.
• Disturbance in sleep: this is generally caused by constant air or land traffic that occurs at night as well as might tend to give rise to a severe condition that can eventually have a drastic effect upon the performance of the individual and intense levels of diseases.

Impact of noise pollution on wildlife as well as marine life

A vast number of oil drills, devices for seismic surveys, shipping vessels, sonars and watercraft meant for coastal recreation have now started populating the water areas as well as are rising as one of the primary factors behind noise pollution in the water regions. Whales living in large oceans are the ones most affected by noise pollution. This is because whales use their hearing capability to orient themselves, communicate as well as feed themselves. On the other hand, wildlife animals have also been affected by the increasing noise pollution caused by traffic and firecrackers. In addition to this, the birds are affected by the increase in air traffic, which eventually leads to a rise in noise pollution affecting the birds too.

Effect on the social and economic costs due to noise pollution

According to the estimations made by the World Health Organization (WHO), every 1 out of 3 people residing across Europe is eventually affected by noise pollution. This is due to the increasing population of vehicles on the road, waterways as well as aviation industries reaching greater heights with the advancement of technologies. This significantly affects the social and economic conditions of the world.

The increase in noise pollution and affecting the health of the individuals by inducing diseases such as hypertension eventually leads to sleep disturbance. It affects the work performance of such individuals. In addition to this, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases have also been rising, which takes a huge amount of revenue for appropriate treatment. In addition to this, noise pollution also has a negative impact on the performance of school children in academics.

Hence, from the above discussion, a clear understanding of the various effects noise pollution might have on human health, wildlife, marine life, as well as on the social and economic conditions of the world. However, some measures can be taken to reduce the effect of noise pollution on individual organisms and mitigate the sources causing such pollution eventually. Some of the measures, which can be undertaken are,

• Wearing earplugs to avoid exposure to an elevated noise level ensuring that the individuals are protecting themselves from such prolonged exposure to noise and protecting their health as well.
• Maintenance of a sound level below 35dB inside home and not more than a sound level of 40dB around the residential area during night.
• Choosing of the residential area far away from a place of heavy traffic to reduce exposure to such heavy noises caused by vehicles all throughout the day.
• Avoidance of prolonged usage of earphones at elevated sound levels is one of the primary steps that can be undertaken to ensure that reduction in the effect of noise pollution.
• Avoidance of jobs that require a regular exposure to elevated sound levels, which might eventually lead to a drastic effect on the health of the individual due to long exposure to elevated sound levels for a prolonged period.