Noise has a very bad effect on our health. Apart from physical problems, there are also problems related to behavior due to noise.
Padma Shri Dr. K.K., President of Heartcare Foundation of India (HCFI) Aggarwal said, “Unsolicited sounds are called noise. The loud noise is 85 dB or more, that is, the level of noise that has to be raised to talk to someone standing three feet away. Noise is a well-known environmental stressor that involves both physical and psychological effects.
He said that it is associated with anxiety, high blood pressure, increased heartbeat rate, insomnia, discomfort, stress. This may cause hearing difficulties. The safe limit for sounds of 85 dB or less is an 8-hour exposure. Loud noise does not make sense and results in poor performance and increases the likelihood of errors. When there is noise, one has to speak on a high pitch to speak clearly. ”
People living in places where traffic noise is high are at a 25 percent higher risk of apathy, loneliness and depression than those living in a quiet environment. These people also have problems focusing.
Dr. Aggarwal told, “There is a lot of noise even in hospitals. Control of noise levels in hospitals is very important for the well-being and treatment of patients. Noise presents an unhealthy environment for doctors.
This affects concentration and increases the chances of mistakes, which can prove costly for doctors and hospitals. Neither an alert nor a patient monitoring alarm can be heard if there is noise in the normal background in an ICU, which can prove to be potentially devastating. Apart from this, doctors may also have high BP and other health problems. ”
Noise pollution can be reduced by these methods –
– Traffic flow around schools and hospitals should be minimized as much as possible.
– Signboards with Silence Zone and No Hawking should be close to these areas.
– Efforts should be made to ban the use of malfunctioning silencers and noisy trucks and horns in two-wheelers.
– The use of loudspeakers at parties and discos as well as public announcement systems must be investigated.
– Noise regulations should be strictly enforced near the silence zone.
– Noise pollution can be reduced by planting trees on both sides of roads and around residential areas.
