Abstract
Noise is arguably the most widespread and least controlled environmental pollutant. Noise has been recognized since the time of the Romans as unwanted and intrusive. It was the Industrial Revolution and the rise of cities that greatly accelerated noise pollution to current levels, which continue to increase. The main sources that underlie noise continue to be population growth and urbanization; technology has added to the din. Among its many adverse effects, noise damages hearing, disturbs communication, disrupts sleep, impairs cardiovascular function, interferes with teaching and learning, reduces productivity, harms relationships, provokes unwanted behaviors, and increases accidents. It is a significant source of recurring and often unrecognized stress, which, itself, degrades both health and the quality of life.
Controlling noise will require efforts at several levels. First, government must act responsibly to protect human health and well-being. This means enacting rational noise control laws, seeing they are implemented, and enforcing them as necessary. Education of lawmakers and the public will be an ongoing part of this effort. Business must recognize its role in generating noise and must be part of the solution in noise reduction. Technology will have to play a role in designing and manufacturing all sorts of machines and devices that produce noise levels that do not adversely affect health. The public must play a part by recognizing the hazards of noise pollution, by being unwilling to tolerate it, and by demanding legislative action and enforcement in their federal, state, and municipal governments. Each of us will have to cease being sources of unnecessary noise. As a society, at all levels, we must turn down the volume.
Louis Hagler is Retired
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Zaner, A. (1991) Definition and sources of noise. In: Noise and health, Ed. Fay, T.H., The New York Academy of Medicine, New York.
Suter, A.H. (1991) Noise and its effects. Administrative Conference of the United States. Available at http://www.noisepollution.org/library/suter/suter.htm. Accessed October 18, 2008.
Berglund, B., Lindvall, T. (1995) Community noise. Arch Center Sens Res, 2, 1–195, This document is an updated version of the document published by the World Health Organization in 1980. The updated version is available at: http://www.who.int/docstore/peh/noise/guidelines2.html. Accessed October 18, 2008.
Lee, C.S.Y., Fleming, G.G. (2002) General health effects of transportation noise, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, Available at http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/RRDev/Health_Final.pdf. Accessed October 18, 2008.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (1978) Noise: a health problem, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, Washington, DC.
Kryter, K.D. (1985) The effects of noise on man, Second Edition, Academic Press Inc., Orlando, FL, p. 1.
Colvin, I., Luxon, L. (2007) Clinical diagnosis of noise-induced hearing loss. In: Noise and its effects, Eds. Prasher, D. and Luxon, L., John Wiley and Sons Ltd., New York, pp. 182–231.
Babisch, W. (2005) Noise and health. Environ Health Perspect, 113, A14–15. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?article=1253720. Accessed October 18, 2008.
Ising, H., Kruppa, B. (2004) Health effects caused by noise: evidence from the literature from the past 25 years. Noise Health, 6, 5–13.
Stansfeld, S., Haines, M., Brown, B. (2000) Noise and health in the urban environment. Rev Environ Health, 15, 43–82.
Passchier-Vermeer, W., Passchier, W.F. (2000) Noise exposure and public health. Environ Health Perspect, 108 (Suppl. 1), 123–131.
Bat Chava, Y., Schur, K.. (November 2000) Longitudinal trends in hearing loss: nineteen years of public screenings. Paper presented at the 128th annual meeting of American Public Health Association, Boston.
Goines, L. (2008) The importance of quiet in the home: teaching noise awareness to parents before the neonate is discharged from the NICU. Neonatal Netw, 27, 171–176.
Nadler, N. (1997) Noisy toys—some toys are not as much fun as they look. Hear Rehabil Q, 22, 8–10.
Brookhouser, P.E. (1996) Sensorineural hearing loss in children. Ped Clin North Am, 43, 1195–1216.
Niskar, A.S., Kieszak, S.M., Holmes, A.E., et al. (2001) Estimated prevalence of noise induced hearing threshold shifts among children 6 to 19 years of age: the third national health and nutritional examination survey 1988–1994, United States. Pediatrics, 108, 40–43.
Agrawal, Y., Platz, E.A., Niparko, J.K. (2008) Prevalence of hearing loss and differences by demographic characteristics among US adults. Arch Intern Med, 168 (14), 1522–1530.
Plakke, B.L. (1983) Noise levels of electronic arcade games: a potential hearing hazard to children. Ear Hear, 4, 202–203.
Holgers, K.M., Petterson, B. (2005) Noise exposure and subjective hearing symptoms among high school students. Noise Health, 7, 27–37.
Chung, J.H., Des Roches, C.M., Meunier, J., et al. (2005) Evaluation of noise induced hearing loss in young people using a web-based survey technique. Pediatrics, 115, 861–867.
Music lovers face hearing loss timebomb, RIND warns. (2007) Available at: http://www.rnid.org.uk/mediacentre/press/2007/?ciic=302600. Accessed October 18, 2008.
Gunderson, E., Moline, J., Catalano, P. (1998) Risks of developing noise induced hearing loss in employees of urban music clubs. Am J Ind Med, 31, 75–79.
Sadhra, S., Jackson, C.A., Ryder, T., et al. (2002) Noise exposure and hearing loss among student employees working in university entertainment venues. Ann Occup Hyg, 46, 455–463.
Schmuziger, N., Patscheke, J., Probst, R. (2006) Hearing in nonprofessional pop/rock musicians. Ear Hear, 27, 321–330.
Hearing Loss and Military Personnel. (2008) Available at (http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Medical/Causes/nihl/mil/mil.htm) Accessed October 18, 2008.
Miller, J.D. (1974) Effects of noise on people. J Acoust Soc Am, 56 (3), 729–764.
Borsky, P.N. (1969) Effects of noise on community behavior. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Noise as a Public Health Hazard, ASHA Reports 4, Eds. Ward, W.D. and Fricke, J.E., American Speech and Hearing Association, Washington, DC.
Bronzaft, A.L., Ahern, H.D., McGinn, R., et al. (1998) Aircraft noise: a potential health hazard. Environ Behavi, 30, 101–113.
Borsky, P.N. (1961) Community reactions to Air Force noise. Parts I and II. WADD, Technical Report 60-689 (I) and (II), US Air Force.
Weinstein, N.D. (1982) Community noise problems: evidence against adaptation. J Environ Psychol, 2, 99–108.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Federal Aviation Administration. (2008) Available at http://dodd.senate.gov/multimedia/2008/090808_Amicus.pdf Accessed October 18, 2008.
Bronzaft, A.L., Deignan, E., Bat-Chava, Y., Nadler, N. (2000) Intrusive community noises yield more complaints. Hear Rehabil Q, 23, 6–12.
Bronzaft, A.L, Van Ryzin, G. (2007) Neighborhood noise and its consequences. Implications for tracking effectiveness of NYC revised noise code. Special Report 14 of the Council on the Environment of New York City. Available at http://www.cenyc.org Accessed October 18, 2008.
Staples, S.L. (1996) Human response to environmental noise. Am Psychol, 51, 143–150.
Leventhal, H.G. (2004) Low frequency noise and annoyance. Noise Heath, 6, 59–72.
Goines, L. Hagler, L. (2007) Noise pollution: a modern plague. South Med J, 100, 287–294.
Babisch, W. (2006) Transportation noise and cardiovascular risk; updated review and synthesis of epidemiological studies indicate that the evidence has increased. Noise Health, 8, 1–29.
World Health Organization. (2007) Quantifying burden of disease from environmental noise: Second Technical Meeting Report. Bern, Switzerland, 15–16 December, 2005.
Jarup, L., Babisch, W., Houthuijs, D., et al. (2008) Hypertension and exposure to noise near airports: the HYENA study. Environ Health Perspect, 116, 329–333.
Evans, G.W., Lepore, S.J. (1993) Non-auditory effects of noise on children; a critical review. Childrens Environ, 10, 42–72.
Belojevic, G., Jakovijevic, B., Sojanov B., Paunovic, K., Ilic, J. (2008) Urban road-traffic noise and blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children. Environ Int, 34, 226–231.
van Kempen, E., Van Kamp I., Fischer, P., Davies, H. Houthuijs, D. Stellato, R., Clark, C. & Stansfeld, S. (2006) Noise exposure and children’s blood pressure and heart rate: the RANCH project. Occup Environ Med, 63, 632–639.
Passchier-Vermeer, W., Passchier, W.F. (2000) Noise exposure and public health. Environ Health Perspect, 108, 123–131.
Wachs, T., Gruen, G. (1982) Early experience and human development, New York, Plenum.
Bronzaft, A.L. (1996) Top of the Class, Greenwich, CT, Ablex.
Bronzaft, A.L., McCarthy, D. (1975) The effect of elevated train noise on reading ability. Environ Behavi, 5, 517–528.
Bronzaft, A.L. (1981) The effect of a noise abatement program on reading ability. J Environ Psychol, 1, 215–222.
Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN) (2000) FICAN position on research into effects of aircraft noise on classroom learning, Washington, DC, Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise.
Haines, M.M., Stansfeld, S.A., Job, R.F., Berglund, S. et al. (2001) Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children. Psychol Med, 31, 265–277.
Stansfeld, S.A., Berglund, B., Clark, C., et al. (2005) Aircraft and road traffic noise and children’s cognition and health: a cross-national study. Lancet, 365, 1942–1949.
Hiramatsu, K. (1999)A report on the aircraft noise as a public health problem in Okinawa, Okinawa, Japan, Okinawa Prefectural Government, Department of Culture and Environmental Affairs.
Griefahn, B. (2007) Noise and sleep. In: Noise and its effects, Eds. Prasher, D. and Luxon, L., John Wiley and Sons Ltd., New York, pp. 567–587.
Maschke, C., Hecht, K. (2004) Stress hormones and sleep disturbances – electrophysiological and hormonal aspects. Noise Health, 6, 49–54.
Spreng, M. (2004) Noise induced nocturnal cortisol secretion and tolerable overhead flights. Noise Health, 6, 35–47.
Raschke, F. (2004) Arousals and aircraft noise – environmental disorders of sleep and health in terms of sleep medicine. Noise Health, 6, 15–26.
Ohrstrom, E., Hadzibajramovic, E., Holmes, M., Svensson, H. (2006) Effects of road traffic on sleep: studies on children and adults. J Environ Psychol, 16, 116–126.
Belden, T. (May, 2007) Delco residents vent at FAA. Phila Inq, Available at findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_/ai_n19044798 Accessed October 24, 2008.
Milgrom, S. (1970) The experience of living in cities. Science, 167, 1461–1466.
Bijsterveld, K. (2008)Mechanical sound, Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press.
Bronzaft, A.L. (1998) A voice to end the government’s silence on noise. Hear Rehabil Q, 23, 6–12.
Dallas, J.E. (1998) The quiet communities act of 1997: more than meets the eye. Hear Rehabil Q, 23, 16–22.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (1979) Noise – it hurts, Washington, DC, United States Environmental Protection Agency.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (1976) Aviation noise – let’s get on with the job, Washington, DC, United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The EU Directive on Environmental Noise. (2002) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/noise/directive.htm Accessed on October 18, 2008.
The EU Inventory of Noise Mitigation Methods. (2002) Available at http://www.environnement.gouv.fr/ecologie/IMG/pdf/Rapport-inventaire-methodes-reduction-bruit-ambiant-2002.pdf Accessed on October 18, 2008.
Layne, R.. (July 15, 2008) United technologies battles GE for new jet engine. Bloomberg News.
Bronzaft, A.L. (1986) Rail noise: the relationship to subway maintenance and operation. Urban Resour, 4, 37–42.
Business Wire (May 27, 2008). New report “Fueling a Greener Future – Showcases NYC Metro Region’s Commitment to Alternative-Fueled Garbage Trucks.”
Simpson, S (July 30, 2008) Are hybrid cars too quiet to be safe for pedestrians. Sci Mag, Available at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=are-hybrid-cars-too-quiet.
Council Directive 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances. (1992) Available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31992L0075:EN:HTML Accessed October 18, 2008.
Quiet Zone. Volume control for the home. Available at http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzone/quietzone.asp Accessed October 18, 2008
Vincent, B., Lambert, J. (2005) Assessing the quality of urban sound environment; complementarity between noise monitoring system, noise mapping and perception survey, the stakes for information to the public. Presented at the 2005 Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering. 7–10 August, 2005. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bronzaft, A.L., Hagler, L. (2010). Noise: The Invisible Pollutant that Cannot Be Ignored. In: Shah, V. (eds) Emerging Environmental Technologies, Volume II. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3352-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3352-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3351-2
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3352-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)