Noise levels in cities reach critical levels

LARAIB FATIMA

• Noise has always been with us, but never so evident, violent and pervasive as it is today

Noise levels in Pakistan have reached critical levels with average noise values of 76.5db being recorded in Karachi, 72.5 in Islamabad and 86 in Peshawar—as according to WHO, noise above 70db is considered painful. While these values may not have reached astronomical levels, but if left unchecked it could cause widespread hearing defects, insomnia, indigestion, heartburn, ulcers, hypertension, and psychological disorders.

According to the WHO’s criteria, noise levels in a residential area should be 45db, 55db in commercial areas and 65 in industrial areas. Note that these are the maximum levels and yet in our major cities, the value is at least 10-20db above the criteria.

One of the most annoying problems faced by the residents of Pakistan’s largest cities is noise pollution. It is an unwanted product of our modern civilisation and is becoming a menace to our society. Noise is an unpleasant, undesired and irritating sound produced by a vibrating matter. Word noise has Latin original meaning nausea referring to unwanted sound.

Noise has always been with us, but never so evident, violent and pervasive as it is today. Therefore it is essential to know its disastrous effects on the human body.

Effects of noise on human health:

Noise is one of the major pollutants in the urban areas of Pakistan. Depending on the level, quality and exposure of noise duration, it may adversely affect the health of humans. These effects can be for the short-term exposure to intense sound or continuous exposure to the less intense of noise levels. The effects of noise on human health can be auditory and non-auditory:

Auditory Effects: Noise can cause loss of auditory sensory cells. This is a major and most probable impact of noise. There may be many causes of hearing loss, but the main cause is the result of intense exposure to noise. The noise can affect the human ears in mainly three ways: It can deafen or damage the hearing capability instantaneously, it can severally reduce the sensitivity of ear to the sounds of certain frequencies over a period of time, and it can numb the human ears for a limited period of time and return to the normal position within minutes, days or weeks depending upon the intensity of noise.

Non-Auditory Effects: Due to noise there may be a large number of physiological and psychological effects on human health and can act and interact with other stress factors. Non-auditory effects include communication interference, sleep interference, concentration interference, annoyance and loss of working efficiency. Medical investigations have proved that noise can cause physiological stresses like blood pressure and increase heartbeat rate. Noise also disturbs sleep and cause speech interference. Noise intensity above 80 dB (A) may increase the aggressive behaviour of a human being.

Ways to reduce noise pollution

1. Education and awareness about the consequences of noise pollution in massive scale through media.
2. Residential area, hospitals, school, etc., should be constructed far away from city area.
3. The old automobiles should be replaced with the new ones.
4. Deceleration of no horn zone in residential, hospital and school areas.
5. The explosion of nuclear bombs during the war should be discouraged.
6. Plantation of trees in public places.