Most of us are very used to the sounds we hear in
everyday life. Loud music, the television, people talking on their
phone, the traffic and even pets barking in the middle of the night. All
of these have become a part of the urban culture and rarely disturb us.
However, when the sound of the television keeps you from sleeping all
night or the traffic starts to give you a headache, it stops becoming
just noise and start turning into noise pollution. For many of us, the
concept of pollution is limited to nature and resources. However, noise
that tends to disrupt the natural rhythm of life makes for one solid
pollutant.
By definition, noise pollution takes place when there is either
excessive amount of noise or an unpleasant sound that causes temporary
disruption in the natural balance. This definition is usually applicable
to sounds or noises that are unnatural in either their volume or their
production. Our environment is such that it has become difficult to
escape noise. Even electrical appliances at home have a constant hum or
beeping sound. By and large, lack of urban planning increases the
exposure to unwanted sounds. This is why understanding noise pollution
is necessary to curb it in time.
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Causes of Noise Pollution
1. Industrialization: Most of the industries use big machines which are
capable of producing large amount of noise. Apart from that, various
equipments like compressors, generators, exhaust fans, grinding mills
also participate in producing big noise. Therefore, you must have seen
workers in these factories and industries wearing ear plugs to minimize
the effect of noise.
2. Poor Urban Planning: In most of the developing countries, poor urban
planning also play a vital role. Congested houses, large families
sharing small space, fight over parking, frequent fights over basic
amenities leads to noise pollution which may disrupt the environment of
society.
3. Social Events: Noise is at its peak in most of the social events.
Whether it is marriage, parties, pub, disc or place of worship, people
normally flout rules set by the local administration and create nuisance
in the area. People play songs on full volume and dance till midnight
which makes the condition of people living nearby pretty worse. In
markets, you can see people selling clothes via making loud noise to
attract the attention of people.
4. Transportation: Large number of vehicles on roads, aeroplanes flying
over houses, underground trains produce heavy noise and people get it
difficult to get accustomed to that. The high noise leads to a situation
wherein a normal person lose the ability to hear properly.
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5. Construction Activities: Under construction activities like mining,
construction of bridges, dams, buildings, stations, roads, flyovers take
place in almost every part of the world. These construction activities
take place everyday as we need more buildings, bridges to accommodate
more people and to reduce traffic congestion. The down point is that
these construction equipments are too noisy.
6. Household Chores: We people are surrounded by gadgets and use them
extensively in our daily life. Gadgets like TV, mobile , mixer grinder,
pressure cooker, vacuum cleaners , washing machine and dryer, cooler,
air conditioners are minor contributors to the amount of noise that is
produced but it affects the quality of life of your neighborhood in a
bad way.
While this form of pollution may seem harmless, it in fact has far
reaching consequences. The adverse effects on the health of the
environment are quite severe. Not only is the local wildlife affected by
the pollution, humans also face a number of problems due to it.
Effects of Noise Pollution
1. Hearing Problems: Any unwanted sound that our ears have not been
built to filter can cause problems within the body. Our ears can take in
a certain range of sounds without getting damaged. Man made noises such
as jackhammers, horns, machinery, airplanes and even vehicles can be too
loud for our hearing range. Constant exposure to loud levels of noise
can easily result in the damage of our ear drums and loss of hearing. It
also reduces our sensitivity to sounds that our ears pick up
unconsciously to regulate our body’s rhythm.
2. Health Issues: Excessive noise pollution in working areas such as
offices, construction sites, bars and even in our homes can influence
psychological health. Studies show that the occurrence of aggressive
behavior, disturbance of sleep, constant stress, fatigue and
hypertension can be linked to excessive noise levels. These in turn can
cause more severe and chronic health issues later in life.
3. Sleeping Disorders: Loud noise can certainly hamper your sleeping
pattern and may lead to irritation and uncomfortable situations. Without
a good night sleep, it may lead to problems related to fatigue and your
performance may go down in office as well as at home. It is therefore
recommended to take a sound sleep to give your body proper rest.
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4. Cardiovascular Issues: Blood pressure levels, cardio-vascular disease
and stress related heart problems are on the rise. Studies suggest that
high intensity noise causes high blood pressure and increases heart beat
rate as it disrupts the normal blood flow. Bringing them to a manageable
level depends on our understanding noise pollution and how we tackle it.
5. Trouble Communicating: High decibel noise can put trouble and may not
allow two people to communicate freely. This may lead to
misunderstanding and you may get difficult understanding the other
person. Constant sharp noise can give you severe headache and disturb
your emotional balance.
6. Effect on Wildlife: Wildlife faces far more problems than humans
because noise pollution since they are more dependent on sound. Animals
develop a better sense of hearing than us since their survival depends
on it. The ill effects of excessive noise begin at home. Pets react more
aggressively in households where there is constant noise.
They become disoriented more easily and face many behavioral problems.
In nature, animals may suffer from hearing loss, which makes them easy
prey and leads to dwindling populations. Others become inefficient at
hunting, disturbing the balance of the eco-system.
Species that depend on mating calls to reproduce are often unable to
hear these calls due to excessive man made noise. As a result, they are
unable to reproduce and cause declining populations. Others require
sound waves to echo-locate and find their way when migrating. Disturbing
their sound signals means they get lost easily and do not migrate when
they should. To cope up with the increasing sound around them, animals
are becoming louder, which may further add to the pollution levels. This
is why understanding noise pollution can help us lower the impact it has
on the environment.
As of now, there do not exist many solutions to reduce sound pollution.
On a personal level, everybody can help reducing the noise in their
homes by lowering the volume of the radio, music system and the
television. Listening to music without headphones is also a good step
forward. Removal of public loudspeakers is another way in which the
pollution can be countered.
As is controlling the sound levels in clubs, bars, parties and discos.
Better urban planning can help in creating ‘No-Noise’ zones, where
honking and industrial noise are not tolerated. It is only when our
understanding noise pollution is complete, can we take steps to
eradicate it completely. |