TITLE:
Impact of Noise on Health: The Divide between Policy and Science
AUTHORS:
Arline L. Bronzaft
KEYWORDS:
Noise Pollution, Noise and Health, Noise and Public Policy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.5,
May
12,
2017
ABSTRACT: In her chapter “Sources of
Noise” in Noise and Health, Annette Zaner [1] writes that sounds have been environmental
pollutants for thousands of years, citing examples of stories of loud music in
the Old Testament and noisy delivery wagons in ancient times. The Industrial
Revolution and urbanization in more recent times raised the decibel levels in
our communities, especially with the growth in transportation on the roads, on
the rails and in the air, as well as the growth of noise polluting products.
The proliferation of boom cars, cell phones and wind turbines during the past
twenty years has made our world even noisier. Studies have been carried out
that have demonstrated the potential impact of these noises on our mental and
physical health, and there have been some efforts to lessen some of the
intrusive sounds, e.g. aircraft and road traffic noise, but there is still too
little attention paid to the deleterious effects of noise. While noise
complaints top the list of complaints in major cities worldwide and noise even
threatens the natural sound systems of our planet, there is no movement
globally to address the noise pollutant. The following paper will examine the
research linking noise to health effects, question why governments have not seriously
attempted to lower noise levels and suggest ways to lessen the din. Doing so
will not only be beneficial to our health and well-being but it would also be
wise economically.