Noise Pollution on the Rise

National standard for noise never set;

Sound -- a serious threat to environmental health

You want to listen to head banging rock music and your parents orbit into the space. But have you thought about your dear little sensitive ears? How much can they take to bear those unpleasant voices?

Noise pollution is a sort of pollution in which distracting, irritating and damaging sounds are freely audible. As with other forms of pollution such as heat and light pollution, it contaminants are not physical particles, but rather waves that interfere with naturally present waves of similar category in the same environment.

Sounds are considered noise pollution if they adversely affect wildlife, human activity, or are capable of damaging physical structures on a regular basis.

Noise is an unwanted, unpleasant and annoying sound caused by vibration of the matter. Vibrations impose on the ear drum of a human or animal and setup a nervous disturbance, which we call sound. When the effects of sound are undesirable, it may be termed as ‘Noise’. Noise from industry, traffic, homes and recreation can cause annoyance, disturbed sleep and affect health. Thus, sound is a potentially serious pollutant and threat to environmental health.

The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) exercising its power under clause (d) of Section 6(1) of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance (PEPO), 1983 with the approval of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council(PEPC) established National Environmental Quality Standards(NEQS), for motor vehicle exhausts and noise. But even due to this unflinching effort the noise pollution is on the rise making the life people a miserable one.

Noise can adversely affect the performance for example in reading and attentiveness, problem solving and memory.

The most significant health problem caused by noise pollution is hearing loss or deafness. Any noise appreciably louder than talking can damage the delicate hair cells in the cochlea, the structure in the inner ear that converts sound waves into auditory nerve signals. The initial damage to the cochlea may be temporary, but with repeated exposure, the damage becomes permanent.

Loud noise deafens quickly extremely loud sounds such as gunshots at close range, can cause immediate hearing loss. But even sound levels of only 85 decibels will cause some hearing loss after prolonged exposure.