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Noise and You
Why worry about noise?
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Of all the pollution concerns:
– Air,water,land, and noise; noise pollution is
the one that has the potential for the most
damage to humans and wildlife.
– It is a hidden health hazard that impacts
our physical, psychological and intellectual
well being.
– Our ears never shut down, even while we
are sleeping, so the input is constant.
Noise Pollution

Noise pollution has a broad effect.
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It can excite us
Warn us of danger
Soothe us
Inspire us
Keep us in touch with our surroundings.
And, harm our well being.
Noise is Everywhere
Hearing
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Our ability to hear is
one of our great
senses that connects
us with the world
around us.
Without it, the world
becomes a lonely,
frightening place.
Our Magical Ears
Those Handles on Our Heads

Our ears aren’t
there for decoration!
– They are amazing
neurotransmitters
that gather and
process sound,
sending the input off
to our brain where
fascinating things
happen.
The Ear and Our Brain
– Our brain processes the sound waves
received via our ears and makes
determinations that effect: speech,
balance, and hearing.
– Excess stimulation from sound can
overload our nervous system resulting in
many negative health symptoms.
What does our ear drum do?
– Sound waves are
collected by our ear
canal and passed to
the ear drum, which
vibrates. The sound
waves are then
picked up by fluid in
the inner ear and
passed to the inner
ear structures where
the acoustic nerve
connects to the
brain.
The Mighty Decibel
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Decibels measure
the intensity of
sound.
Hearing loss can
occur from a single
exposure to a loud
noise or from
repeated exposures.
The Environmental
Protection Agency
has set a standard
of 70 db in a 24
hour period as safe.
The Numbers
– Rustling leaves- 10db
– whisper - 30 db
– normal speech - 60
db
– television - 70 db
– traffic - 75-80 db
– blow dryer - 85 db
– noisy hall - 85 db
– classroom - 85 db
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–
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Stereo - 90 db
bagpipes - 90-110 db
power saw - 100 db
fire cracker - 115120 db
– rock concert - 120
db
– gunshot/train/jet – 150 db
Physical Effects

Examples: hearing
loss, digestive
disorders, birth
defects, arthritis,
cancer, heart
disease, fatigue,
headaches, asthma,
hypertension,
insomnia, sexual
dysfunction, altered
immune system.
Psychological Effects

Examples:
depression, anger,
aggression, anxiety,
increased violence,
alcohol and drug
use, fatigue,
increase in suicide,
decreased social
skills, personality
disorders
Communicative Effects

Examples:
decreased learning
capacity, memory
loss, poor language
skills, decreased
speech
development,
decreased academic
performance,
decreased cognitive
ability
How much is too much?
– Damage to health
begins at 75 db.
– Hearing damage
begins at 90 db and
can be permanent
with one exposure of
120 db or more.
– The average decibel
levels at Montpelier
High School are 7086; where damage
to physical,
psychological and
communicative
health begins.
Music To Your Ears?

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As a bagpiper I am
acutely aware of the
impact of noise on
my well being. The
average bagpipe
generates 90-110
db.
It is important in
any of our health
arena’s that we
make deliberate
choices about how
to protect ourselves.
Shhhhhh

How can we stop
the constant
bombardment to our
ears and protect our
over all health?
Stopping the Noise

It cannot be done!
– Even during sleep our ears are absorbing
sound waves that are then processed by
our brain.
– What we can do is seek practical ways to
diminish the noise OR protect our ears
from receiving too much damaging input,
i.e. decibels.
Know Thyself

Respecting sounds and how they can
impact your health involves knowing
yourself. We all have different
thresholds of what we can handle.
– What kinds of sounds stimulate you,
soothe you, irritate you?
– Do you find you have ringing in your ears
after certain sound exposures?
– Is there a family history of hearing loss?
So, Now What?

How do you balance
what you enjoy with
what is healthy?
Controlling the noise in your life is not hopeless, but
does require determination on your part to respect and
alter the level of noise.

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Wear ear plugs in
very loud places.
Filtered ear plugs,
such as Sonic II can
be purchased in any
music or gun shop.
They reduce the
damaging decibels,
whereas foam plugs
will muffle sound but
still allow too high a
decibel range to enter
your ears.
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Carpeting, pictures
and plants will absorb
sound.
Increase trees and
shrubs around
property.
Be aware of your
surroundings and do
whatever you can to
reduce the noise
level.
Find quiet time daily.
Limit your time in a
noisy environment
The End