AP: Lesson - Noise Pollution (Topic 7.8) 📖

Prolonged exposure to loud noise can lead to permanent hearing loss or impairment.

Once, when I was a teenager, I went to a concert in a bar/restaurant. On the way to the concert, my friends and I blasted the band's music. During the concert, we stood right next to the speakers. On the way home, the car was quiet - none of us heard any music. The next morning, when my friend got in his car, the music was still blasting. We'd suffered temporary hearing loss!

Constant noise disrupts peace of mind, leading to stress, anxiety, and irritability.

Noisy environments interfere with sleep quality, affecting overall health.

Chronic noise exposure is linked to high blood pressure and heart problems.

Noise affects animals too. It can alter predator-prey interactions, interfere with reproduction, and cause permanent hearing loss. It can also disrupt ecosystems and affect the well-being of wildlife.

A significant amount of human-generated noise occurs in the ocean, caused by drilling, submarines, ships, and other activities.

Research has primarily focused on marine mammals, but recent studies explore invertebrates’ responses to anthropogenic sounds in marine environments.

Well-planned landscapes can reduce noise pollution, especially in areas where neighborhoods and shopping centers are close to construction and industrial areas. 

Additionally, planting vegetation screens along highways and freeways where they are close to neighborhoods can greatly reduce noise pollution in those residential areas.

When we lived in rural Georgia, we could hear traffic noise much better in the winter, when the leaves on our trees were gone. In the summers, we could barely hear vehicle noise.

Servicing autos, motorcycles, and machinery to make sure they are working well can also reduce noise pollution. 

Buildings can be designed so that they reduce noise. For example, carpet reduces noise more than tile. My husband used to work in a big building with a large, marble-floored atrium. Sometimes, our baby and I would visit him at work and have lunch with him. When we did, his colleagues on the second floor said they could hear our baby chattering and squealing in their offices because the tiled atrium caused the sound to echo and reverberate. 

Special noise absorbing ceiling tiles can also be installed to cut down on noise.

If workers are exposed to very loud noises at work, federal law requires that they are provided with ear protection. 

My husband used to work at an airplane-manufacturing facility and even though he worked with computers and not in the manufacturing part of the facility, he was provided with ear protection and eye protection on his first day at work. The facility also provided bins of ear plugs near the doors of the manufacturing areas, where sound was loudest.