Sound Pollution

What is Sound Pollution? Noise Pollution or Sound Pollution is when the exposure of people or animals to levels of sound that are annoying, stressful, or damaging to the ears. Although loud and frightening sounds are part of nature, only in recent centuries has much of the world become urban, industrial, and chronically noisy. The machines used in factories make noise throughout the day, and this disturbs the peaceful atmosphere in the vicinity, as machines used without proper covering lead to sound pollution. Noise is one of the most pervasive pollution in America. How is Sound Pollution Measured? Noise intensity is measured in decibel units. The decibel scale is logarithmic each !"#decibel increase represents a tenfold increase in noise intensity. What Causes Sound Pollution? $ost noise pollution comes from machines, especially automobiles, trucks, and aircraft. %onstruction e&uipment, farm machines, and the din of machinery inside factories can be dangerously loud. Some home appliances, shop tools, lawnmowers,

and leaf blowers can also be noisy, as are guns, firecrackers, and some toys. 'ven music, when played at very high volume, particularly through personal headphones, is as damaging to the ears as a roaring chain saw.

Health Effects
Human health
Noise health effects are both health and behavioral in nature. The unwanted sound is called noise. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. (urthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks. %hronic exposure to noise may cause noise#induced hearing loss. )lder males exposed to significant occupational noise demonstrate significantly reduced hearing sensitivity than their non#exposed peers, though differences in hearing sensitivity decrease with time and the two groups are indistinguishable by age *+. A comparison of $aaban tribesmen, who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise, to a typical ,.S. population showed that chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise contributes to hearing loss. -igh noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to moderately high levels during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of five to ten points and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease. Noise pollution is also a cause of annoyance. A .""/ study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four 'uros per decibel per year for noise reduction.

Wildlife health
Noise can have a detrimental effect on animals, increasing the risk of death by changing the delicate balance in predator or prey detection and avoidance, and interfering the use of the sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.0!"1 An impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction. Noise pollution has caused the death of certain species of whales that beached themselves after being exposed to the loud sound of military sonar0!!1 2see also $arine mammals and sonar3. Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called 4ombard vocal response.0 Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales5 song length is longer when submarine#detectors are on. 6f creatures do not 7speak7 loud enough, their voice will be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net#bubbling. 8hen one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species5 voice, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder. Impacts of noise Why bother about noise? )ften neglected, noise induces a severe impact on humans and on living organisms. Some of the adverse effects are summarised below. 9:Annoyance: 6t creates annoyance to the receptors due to sound level fluctuations. The aperiodic sound due to its irregular occurrences causes displeasure to hearing and causes annoyance. 9:Physiolo ical effects: The physiological features like breathing amplitude, blood pressure, heart#beat rate, pulse rate, blood cholesterol are effected. 9:!oss of hearin : 4ong exposure to high sound levels cause loss of hearing. This is mostly unnoticed, but has an adverse impact on hearing function. 9:Human performance: The working performance of workers;human will be affected as they5ll be losing their concentration.

9:"er#ous system: 6t causes pain, ringing in the ears, feeling of tiredness, thereby effecting the functioning of human system. 9:Sleeplessness: 6t affects the sleeping there by inducing the people to become restless and loose concentration and presence of mind during their activities 9:$ama e to material : The buildings and materials may get damaged by exposure Control of "oise Pollution Noise generation is associated with most of our daily activities. A healthy human ear responds to a very wide range of SP4 from # the threshold of hearing at <ero d=, uncomfortable at !""#!." d= and painful at !>"#!?" d=2>3. @ue to the various adverse impacts of noise on humans and environment 2See 4)#/3, noise should be controlled. The techni&ue or the combination of techni&ues to be employed for noise control depend upon the extent of the noise reduction re&uired, nature of the e&uipment used and the economy aspects of the available techni&ues. The various steps involved in the noise management strategy is illustrated at (ig ?. Aeduction in the noise exposure time or isolation of species from the sources form part of the noise control techni&ues besides providing personal ear protection, engineered control for noise reduction at source and;or diversion in the traBectory of sound waves. "oise control at Source The noise pollution can be controlled at the source of generation itself by employing techni&ues like# C %educin the noise le#els from domestic sectors: The domestic noise coming from radio, tape recorders, television sets, mixers, washing machines, cooking operations can be minimised by their selective and Budicious operation. =y usage of carpets or any absorbing material, the noise generated from felling of items in house can be minimised. C Maintenance of automobiles: Aegular servicing and tuning of vehicles will reduce the noise levels. (ixing of silencers to automobiles, two wheelers etc., will reduce the noise levels.

C Control o#er #ibrations: The vibrations of materials may be controlled using proper foundations, rubber padding etc. to reduce the noise levels caused by vibrations. C !ow #oice spea&in : Speaking at low voices enough for communication reduces the excess noise levels. C Prohibition on usa e of loud spea&ers: =y not permitting the usage of loudspeakers in the habitant <ones except for important meetings ; functions. Now#a#days, the urban Administration of the metro cities in 6ndia, is becoming stringent on usage of loudspeakers. C Selection of machinery: )ptimum selection of machinery tools or e&uipment reduces excess noise levels. (or example selection of chairs, or selection of certain machinery;e&uipment which generate less noise 2Sound3 due to its superior technology etc. is also an important factor in noise minimisation strategy. C Maintenance of machines: Proper lubrication and maintenance of machines, vehicles etc. will reduce noise levels. (or example, it is a common experience that, many parts of a vehicle will become loose while on a rugged path of Bourney. 6f these loose parts are not properly fitted, they will generate noise and cause annoyance to the driver;passenger. Similarly is the case of machines. Proper handling and regular maintenance is essential not only for noise control but also to improve the life of machine.