Did you know that sounds of 200 dB can kill you? Noise pollution is potentially harmful environmental noise that we may encounter every day. It can affect anyone, including plants, animals and humans. Noise pollution in humans affects sleep, eating habits, mood, concentration and body parts such as lungs and heart. It can also cause stress, which has its own defects. It can cause a lower immune system, which can lead to infections and illness. The main categories of how humans are affected by noise pollution include mental health problems, verbal communication issues, sleep disturbances and cardiovascular issues. However, the most common and significant way that humans are affected by noise is through hearing loss. Science is helping people who have hearing problems, and still we have not found a cure. Scientists have however developed a series of things, including a type of medicine used to increase communication between neurotransmitters in the ear and the brain, which supposedly helps your hearing. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a "safe noise level" is no more than 55 decibels (dB), although hearing damage begins at 85 dB. The human hearing range is between 20 and 20,000 dB. To have a comparison, a rock concert is about 115 dB and the sound of a person whispering is about 15 dB. Today, young people experience hearing loss at earlier ages, since they are constantly being exposed to loud music through earphones or concerts. The average teenager is likely to hear 25 percent less than their parents or grandparents do. However, if an older and a younger person were hearing the same sounds for a longer period of time, the younger person would be hearing more than the older person since hearing is damaged over time.
The effects of noise pollution are different for each individual. Some people are not bothered by specific sounds as much as others might be, and some may have more sensitive hearing than others. Sound doesn’t only affect humans, but also animals and possibly plants. Some effects that noise pollution has caused on animals include trembling when in loud sound, a decrease in reproduction, stunted growth, and hearing loss. Even slight hearing loss for animals can mean a lot more of what it means for us. For example, a bird uses hearing to find a prey, and with hearing loss it wouldn’t have enough food for survival. Some research has been done to noise pollution and how it affects plants. Tests have been made that show that plants grow better in less loud environments, but it isn’t a proven fact yet. The main causes of noise pollution are traffic, airports, industries, factories and highly populated urban areas. However, even rock concerts can affect you negatively, especially after repeated exposures.
Science has limitations to solutions to problems when it comes to noise pollution, since it’s hard to reduce sound but not take away all of it. The best way to escape noise pollution is to tune it down or block it completely. Noise-blocking devices like earplugs and headphones block sounds that may affect you in a negative way. This can be used in sleep, work or personal time, so whenever you don’t need your sense of hearing. You should see where the sound comes from and try to escape it. For example, keep your car windows shut in the middle of traffic, and don’t listen to extremely loud music. Some people are more exposed to noise pollution than others. For example, people that live in the middle of the city or right next to the airport often have to listen to traffic. A way to prevent this is to install special windows. You could also have absorbing materials, to make sounds softer. Listening to music, television, radio, or any other noisy mechanics can also damage your hearing. Try to tune these down when possible. If you work in very noisy work area, the best solution would be to wear ear protection. If your job includes animals, they should be taken away from the noise as soon as possible making their exposure to the noise a short period of time. Often, machines are very loud, so watch out for that type of noise pollution too. Today, we are trying to make devices that decrease noise pollution. One thing that we have is absorbent materials, which sort of suck up sound instead of bouncing it back. For example, the insides of cars are being made with sound deadening material. These decrease sounds of the road, the engine and exhaust noises, to protect the drivers’ ears. Carpets are also used as sound deadening material, since they don’t reflect sound vibrations back as well as walls or floor. Many things decrease sound. Even in your room, a thick wall, curtains, main furniture, a window and a door all absorb sound, or spread it out. Even sound absorbing foam has been created. All of these things make sound softer and protect your ears. Every city or government has their own noise law, and it changes from place to place. In certain places, like Ireland, all you have to do is complain if you find yourself irritated in a noisy neighborhood, and it will immediately be taken in the hands of the police. Environmental Health Officers all over the world also help people deal with problems such as too much noise. In some places like the United Kingdom, you can even find signs that say things like “respect your neighbors” and “wear earphones in this particular area”. 
Therefore, noise pollution is a dangerous type of pollution that should be avoided as much as possible. The main effect is hearing loss, which we have still not found a cure to today. Today, humans are trying to tune our everyday worlds down, and protect our ears. We have special devices to help decrease the sounds we hear, but once again the wise decisions come down to us, and how we choose to take care of our bodies. Noise pollution is an important issue and we have to do everything we can to help protect our bodies from the vibrations travelling through the air.
Bibliography
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Great lead! I like the question you began the report with. You gave excellent examples of how science is applied to solve the problem of noise pollutions, you explained the negative impacts on humans, animals and plants, and you described ways that noise pollution is influenced by laws and social relationships. Great work!
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Thank You
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