Decibel Hell
A.
- During a single day, people living in a typical urban environment can experience a wide range of sounds in many locations, including shopping malls, schools, the workplace, recreational centers, and the home
- In its 1999 Guidelines for Community Noise, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared, “World-wide, noise-induced hearing impairment is the most prevalent irreversible occupational hazard, and it is estimated that 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties.”
- Booming population growth and the loss of rural land to urban sprawl both play a role in the growing noise pollution problem
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long identified transportation: passenger vehicles, trains, buses, motorcycles, medium and heavy trucks, and aircraft as one of the most pervasive outdoor noise sources, esti- mating in its 1981 Noise Effects Handbook that more than 100 million people in the United States are exposed to noise sources from traffic near their homes
- In the United States, about 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous sound levels on the job, according to NIOSH
- Noise in U.S. industry is an extremely difficult problem to monitor, acknowledges Craig Moulton, a senior industrial hygienist for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- There is no evidence to suggest things have gotten any quieter for residents since the EPA published its 1981 handbook
- Secondhand noise is increasingly used to describe noise that is experienced by people who did not produce it
- Secondhand noise can also have a negative effect in the workplace
- There are many household tools and appliances that can produce harmful sound levels in the comfort of one’s own home
- Numerous scientific studies over the years have confirmed that exposure to certain levels of sound can damage hearing
- Nonauditory effects of noise exposure are those effects that don’t cause hearing loss but still can be measured, such as elevated blood pressure, loss of sleep, increased heart rate, cardiovascular constriction, labored breathing, and changes in brain chemistry
- Worldwide, airports have become a flash point for community frustration over noise pollution
B. Humans in their lives experience and hear a wide variety of sounds in different locations like malls, schools, rec centers, in their homes, as well as workplaces. The main problem with sound if that newer generations are beginning to test their hearing and finding that they are start develop hearing disabilities and suffering from hearing problems. One of the main issues of noise impairment is that it is an irreversible occupational hazard. It is estimated that about 120 billion people have problems with hearing and now, many US citizens are surrounded by loud noises that can impair peoples hearing. These noises include construction, mining, transportation, concerts, as well as many more. Another issue is secondhand noise. Secondhand noise is increasingly used to describe noise that is experienced by people who don't produce it. It can have a very negative effect in a workplace. This is starting to become a growing issue considering that there are babies that are staring to become born with hearing disabilities and I believe that we should come together as a society and try to fix this very difficult problem of noise.
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C. This is a very concerning topic after reading this article fully. I know that me myself, I prefer to have my music very loud anytime I am listening to it and I just know figured out that doing that is very not just for myself, but for the future generation that may have hearing disabilities because of people having very loud noises in their surroundings. I believe that we should try and find a solution to this problem, whether if its starting to mass produce noise canceling ear plugs that can block out very loud noises or something that can help us fix this. Even though hearing problems are irreversible, I do still think that trying to come up with a viable solution to this problem. Hearing is one of the most important of five senses which is important for literally everyone, not just humans but for any species with ears.
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