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Noise pollution is everywhere in cities. But do you know the toll it could be taking on your long and short-term health?
Cities are noisy places. From sirens to general traffic noise, to the murmur of people all around. Even at night, you can hear noise. And most people understand instinctively that this isn’t a good thing. You may even feel tired or sick when there’s too much noise. But the problem is deeper than that. The truth is that numerous studies have linked noise with serious diseases. So, if you’re going to understand your health risk, then you need to know how noise will affect you.
A recent study found a link between the severity of a disease and noise. The study looked at nearly 3,000 stroke patients in a 9-year period between 2005 and 2014. These patients had been admitted to hospital with ischaemic strokes. This is a type of stroke that occurs when a blood vessel to the brain becomes blocked. If the block isn’t cleared, the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen and the tissue starts to die.
The study found that living in a noisy area increased the risk of stroke by 30 percent. And living close to green spaces reduced the risk of a severe stroke by 25 percent. Exactly how green spaces lower health risk is unclear and may be due to several factors. Green spaces may reduce stress, increase physical activity, and encourage socializing in a way that city streets don’t. Whatever the answer, these are significant findings. And they’re the first indication of how important noise is to health risk.
Although you may understand that noise is a health risk, it’s hard to pinpoint which characteristic is the most dangerous. And the truth is that there are several factors that can make noise dangerous for your health. These include:
The real problem with noise is that it can be difficult to fight. You can’t block out all the noise of the city around you forever or for any reasonable length of time. Some strategies for blocking out noise temporarily include playing loud music and using noise canceling devices. Unfortunately, these may increase your health risk as well. Playing loud music through headphones is noise in itself. And noise canceling devices can be ineffective and dangerous to wear when you’re walking around the city.
One potential option is a silent room, where you’re completely isolated from external noise. However, this idea is impractical and there is little data on the long-term effects of this kind of isolation.
At this stage, there isn’t enough information on how to deal with the effects of noise pollution. But that doesn’t mean that you should forget about it. Noise clearly has an important impact on your health and health risk. So, you need to be aware of how it could affect you in the long term.
Monitoring noise levels is a good way to start quantifying this health risk. However, the technology to do this doesn’t really exist yet. Because noise is so vital to health risk, noise monitoring may one day be done on a personal and population level. At home, devices may be used to record and analyze the sounds around you. And outside of your home, sensors could one day provide territorial noise monitoring.
This is all speculation. For now, you need to be aware of the risk of noise and foster quiet whenever possible. And as the awareness of the risk of noise grows, pay attention to the technology that’s created to monitor and combat it.
If you’re concerned about a health risk, try using HomeLab to keep track of your condition and any preventative measures you take. And if you see signs of a significant problem, you should check with your doctor as soon as possible.
Keywords: health risk, noise
