How to Minimize the Impact of Noise Pollution, According to Doctors
Noise pollution is nothing new: An 1856 editorial in London’s Times complained of the city’s “noisy, dizzy, scatterbrained atmosphere,” and in 1866, American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne groused that steam-train whistles “bring the noisy world into the midst of our slumberous peace.” But the sounds of our world today do more than just annoy us. Research reveals that the low-level thrum of constant noise from traffic, overhead jets, and the like—the common background of modern life—impairs health as well.
How Loud Noise Impacts Your Health
In 2019, an organization that tracks ambient noise levels in Paris found that an average resident in the noisiest regions lost more than three “healthy life-years” because of conditions caused or worsened by noise pollution. That may sound surprising, but heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, hearing problems, and tinnitus are all linked to chronic noise exposure, according to the World Health Organization. The damage appears to manifest in two ways:
DIRECT EFFECTS: There’s an immediate effect on the acoustic nerves and, as a result, the rest of the nervous system. A fluid-filled inner-ear organ called the cochlea converts sound vibrations into electrical impulses that go directly to the brain. Constant noise, especially when it’s loud, can overload and compromise that nerve-based connection, leading to hearing loss.
INDIRECT EFFECTS: Sound-induced low-level emotional stress has an indirect effect on the body and the mind. Stress can lead to overproduction of cortisol, a hormone that, at elevated levels, has been linked to heart disease and most of the other conditions the WHO has connected with chronic noise exposure.
How to Minimize the Effects of Loud Noise
Sound is vital to the reflexes that help orient us—so much so that people standing in a chamber that blocks out all noise often feel dizzy and fall. A happy medium between the maddening mechanized noise we live in and eerie, disorienting silence appears to be the sorts of soundscapes in which we evolved: the breeze through the trees, rain on the roof, chirping birds. Evidence suggests that playing recorded nature sounds, such as that of flowing water, lowers stress levels (as measured by levels of cortisol in saliva) more than listening to music or being enveloped in silence.
I recommend that you take your sound environment seriously and do what you can to improve it. If your world is too noisy, noise-canceling headphones can bring blessed relief. A pair of quality closed-cell foam earplugs can work wonders in situations where head- phones are inappropriate or awkward—including sleeping in bed. Thick curtains can also muffle street sounds.
And if you find yourself in an environment that’s too quiet, search online for “nature sounds.” There are lots of free recordings on YouTube, some up to 10 hours long. A friend of mine, a writer from Oregon now based in bone-dry Phoenix, typically works while listening to a drenching thunderstorm. Search, and you may discover just the natural sound you’ve longed to hear.
This article originally appeared in the July 2020 issue of Prevention.
Support from readers like you helps us do our best work. Go here to subscribe to Prevention and get 12 FREE gifts. And sign up for our FREE newsletter here for daily health, nutrition, and fitness advice.
You Might Also Like
