Health effects from noise

More than a quarter of US residences have average outside noise levels exceeding the maximum nighttime outside noise level recommended by the World Health Organization.[1]

Noise health effects are the physical and psychological health consequences of regular exposure to consistent elevated sound levels. Noise from traffic, in particular, is considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the worst environmental stressors for humans, second only to air pollution.[2] Elevated workplace or environmental noise can cause hearing impairment, tinnitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, and sleep disturbance.[3][4] Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been also attributed to noise exposure.[5]

Although age-related health effects (presbycusis) occur naturally with age,[6] in many countries the cumulative impact of noise is sufficient to impair the hearing of a large fraction of the population over the course of a lifetime.[7][8] Noise exposure has been known to induce noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, vasoconstriction, and other cardiovascular adverse effects.[9][10] Chronic noise exposure has been associated with sleep disturbances and increased incidence of diabetes. Adverse cardiovascular effects occur from chronic exposure to noise due to the sympathetic nervous system's inability to habituate. The sympathetic nervous system maintains lighter stages of sleep when the body is exposed to noise, which does not allow blood pressure to follow the normal rise and fall cycle of an undisturbed circadian rhythm.[3]

Stress from time spent around elevated noise levels has been linked with increased workplace accident rates, aggression, and other anti-social behaviors.[11] The most significant sources are vehicles, aircraft, prolonged exposure to loud music, and industrial noise.[12] Prolonged exposure to noise at home has been linked to decreased mental health.[13]

There are approximately 10,000 deaths per year as a result of noise in the European Union.[14][15]

  1. ^ Baumgaertner, Emily; Kao, Jason; Lutz, Eleanor; Sedgwick, Josephine; et al. (June 9, 2023). "Noise Could Take Years Off Your Life Here's How". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Münzel, Thomas; Kröller-Schön, Swenja; Oelze, Matthias; Gori, Tommaso; Schmidt, Frank P.; Steven, Sebastian; Hahad, Omar; Röösli, Martin; Wunderli, Jean-Marc; Daiber, Andreas; Sørensen, Mette (2020). "Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Traffic Noise with a Focus on Nighttime Noise and the New WHO Noise Guidelines". Annual Review of Public Health. 41: 309–328. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081519-062400. PMID 31922930.
  3. ^ a b Münzel T, Schmidt FP, Steven S, Herzog J, Daiber A, Sørensen M (February 2018). "Environmental Noise and the Cardiovascular System". Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 71 (6): 688–697. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.12.015. PMID 29420965.
  4. ^ Kerns E, Masterson EA, Themann CL, Calvert GM (June 2018). "Cardiovascular conditions, hearing difficulty, and occupational noise exposure within US industries and occupations". American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 61 (6): 477–491. doi:10.1002/ajim.22833. PMC 6897488. PMID 29537072.
  5. ^ Passchier-Vermeer W, Passchier WF (March 2000). "Noise exposure and public health". Environmental Health Perspectives. 108 (Suppl 1): 123–31. doi:10.1289/ehp.00108s1123. JSTOR 3454637. PMC 1637786. PMID 10698728.
  6. ^ Rosenhall U, Pedersen K, Svanborg A (August 1990). "Presbycusis and noise-induced hearing loss". Ear and Hearing. 11 (4): 257–63. doi:10.1097/00003446-199008000-00002. PMID 2210099.
  7. ^ Schmid RE (2007-02-18). "Aging nation faces growing hearing loss". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2007-11-15. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  8. ^ Senate Public Works Committee, Noise Pollution and Abatement Act of 1972, S. Rep. No. 1160, 92nd Cong. 2nd session
  9. ^ "Noise: Health Effects and Controls" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  10. ^ Kerns, Ellen; Masterson, Elizabeth A.; Themann, Christa L.; Calvert, Geoffrey M. (2018). "Cardiovascular conditions, hearing difficulty, and occupational noise exposure within US industries and occupations". American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 61 (6): 477–491. doi:10.1002/ajim.22833. PMC 6897488. PMID 29537072.
  11. ^ Kryter KD (1994). The handbook of hearing and the effects of noise: physiology, psychology, and public health. Boston: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-427455-6.
  12. ^ "10. Noise" (PDF). Natural Resources and the Environment 2006. 2006. pp. 188–189. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2011.
  13. ^ Li, Ang; Martino, Erika; Mansour, Adelle; Bentley, Rebecca (2022). "Environmental Noise Exposure and Mental Health: Evidence From a Population-Based Longitudinal Study". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 63 (2): e39–e48. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2022.02.020. PMID 35466022. S2CID 248361177.
  14. ^ "Noise in Europe 2014". European Environment Agency.
  15. ^ Godwin R (3 July 2018). "Sonic doom: how noise pollution kills thousands each year". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.