Causes and Effects of Noise Pollution in our Environment

Atmospheric pollution is not the only form of pollution on the earth that harms living beings. It is one of the most dangerous environmental risks to health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Drivers honking horns, groups of employees drilling the surface of the road, aircraft flying in the sky over us. Noise, vibration, and more sound. Cities have become the epicenter of a form of pollution, acoustics, which is seriously harmful to human beings, although its invisibility and the fact that the coronavirus crisis reduced it until it almost yearned. It affects not just humans, it is terrible for animals, too.

What Is Noise Pollution?

Not all noise is known as noise pollution. Noise above 65 decibels (dB) is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as noise pollution. To be exact, as it reaches 75 decibels (dB), noise becomes disruptive and is painful over 120 decibels. As a result, noise levels are advised to be kept below 65 dB throughout the day, suggesting that restful sleep is difficult with ambient noise levels of more than 30 decibels at night.

Causes of Noise Pollution

Many sources of noise pollution are available, but here are some of the key ones:

1. Places of Building. Construction and construction of car parks and resurfacing works on highways and pavement are very noisy. A pneumatic drill, for example, produces 110 dB.

2. Catering and life at night. More than 100 dB can be produced by bars, restaurants, and terraces that spill outside when the weather is good. Noise from bars and clubs is included in this.

3. Noise from traffic. In cities, road noise accounts for the most polluting noise. A car horn, for instance, produces 90 dB, and a bus produces 100 dB.

4. Noise from air traffic. There are fewer aircraft flying over towns than cars are on the roads, but the effect is greater: 130 dB is generated by a single aircraft.

5. Fauna. The noise made by animals can go unnoticed, but around 60-80 dB can be created by a howling or barking dog, for example.

Effects of Noise Pollution

As well as harming our hearing by triggering tinnitus or deafness, excessive loud noise can in many ways affect human health, particularly in very young and very old people.

Here are some of the principal ones:

1. The Physical. Respiratory restlessness, racing heartbeat, high blood pressure, headaches, gastritis, colitis, and even heart attacks in the event of particularly noisy, excessive noise.

2. Psychological. Noise can cause attacks of stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and hysteria in both humans and animals.

3. Sleep and behavioral disorders. Noise above 45 dB stops you from falling asleep or sleeping properly. Remember that according to the World Health Organization it should be no more than 30 dB. Loud noise can have latent effects on our behavior, causing aggressive behavior and irritability.

4. Memory and concentration. Noise may affect people's ability to focus, which can lead to low performance over time. It is also bad for memory, making it hard to study.

Solutions to Reduce Noise Pollution 

Stop very loud recreational events, select alternate means of transport over the car, do your housework at recommended times, insulate homes with noise-absorbing materials, such as bicycles or electric vehicles.

Protection of certain regions, parts of the countryside, areas of natural interest, parks in the city, etc.— Compulsory separation between residential zones and noise sources such as airports, fines for violating noise limits, implementation of noise isolation in new buildings, development of pedestrian areas where traffic is only permitted to enter at certain times to unload goods, replacement of conventional asphalt with more effective or options that can reduce traffic noise by up to 3 dB, among others.