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While some feel that noise is not a distraction if you are used to it, there are other studies that vehemently oppose such claims. "Noise affects more than our health and quality of life; it even influences social behavior and cognitive development. In 1997, a Cornell University study found that children exposed to frequent airplane noise don't learn to read as well as other children. Excessive background noise caused the children to tune out human voices and interfered with their language acquisition. The psychologists who conducted the study speculated that as a result of noise pollution, parents and teachers were also less willing to speak or read aloud." (Blanchard, 1998)
Noise research has been suffering from some serious drawbacks which have caused many to question the veracity of claims made by various studies. While some maintain that noise is a distraction and causes stress, others feel it is only about habituation. The more accustomed you grow, the lesser the impact of noise. However it is also found that degree of sensitively may also vary. Not every person responds to noise levels in the same manner. Some people are more sensitive to noise than others. But even within this group, it is likely that not everyone's reaction would be similar. Within the noise-sensitive group, some noises are found more distracting and disturbing than others. (Watson & Clark, 1984). Similarly it was found that people who are sensitive to noise are more concerned about deteriorating quality of life and potential impact on noise on stress levels (Langdon, 1976.)
Americans are now regularly being exposed to high levels of environmental noise. This increase is believed to have had a negative impact on work performance, health, ability to learn and read etc. Increase in stress-related health problems are also attributed to high level of noise. Public policy in connection with noise control has failed to have any considerable positive impact on...
The research done in the area is not being properly used to identify the various possible health effects and stress-related conditions caused by prolonged exposure to excessive noise. It is important to understand that noise when it crosses a limit, which varies from person to person, adds to psychological stress. A person living in urban areas is therefore much more at risk of becoming a victim of noise-related stress than someone in the countryside. Government needs to make important concerted effort to control environmental noise as it can seriously damage Americans' psychological and physical health.
References
Fields, J.M. (1990). A quantitative summary of non-acoustical variables effects on reactions to environmental noise. In I. Busch-Vishniac (Ed.), 1990 Conference on Noise Control Engineering: Reducing the annoyance of noise. Austin: University of Texas.
Jeff Meer. (1986). Make a wholesome noise - new study indicates that noise is not always a distraction. Psychology Today, May.
Langdon, E.J. (1976). "Noise nuisance caused by road traffic in residential areas: Part III." Journal of Sound and Vibration, 49, 241-256.
Lee, D. (1994, July/August). "Breaking the sound barrier." National Parks, 68, 25-29.
S. However, Russia continues to treat noise exposure as a minor problem. American physicians have associated some seemingly unrelated conditions to sound exposure. Long-term exposure to transportation noise has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk (Babisch, 2006). Hearing loss can occur at even low levels of sound that occur for an extended time (Sisto et al., 2007; Reuter et al., 2007; Dobie, 2007). Noise related hearing loss can occur in
Noise pollution might not be as apparently detrimental to health as air or water pollution, but it can be highly disruptive, according to Ember. Some degree of ambient noise is to be expected, especially in city life. However, there is a difference between manageable or tolerable noise, and noise pollution. Noise pollution is defined as noise that is either excessive or unpleasant, and which causes “temporary disruption in the natural
This may be because the environment may be either polluted, or too noisy, or too crowded, or there may be too much crowding, or it may be too cold, or too warm. The weather too plays an important part in creating stress in an individual, especially when the individual happens to be already stressed due to some reason or the other. Another main source of stress may be physiological, like
How Pollution Negatively Affects Our HealthPollution is an important issue today because it impacts both the health of the planet and the health of human beings around the planet. In fact, whenever the planet is harmed by pollution, humans are harmed as well because people depend upon the environment for sustenance. Pollution is therefore a major social and environmental issue that has negative effects on both the environment and human
pros outweigh the cons of airport navigational systems upgrades. Specifically, the study conducts analysis of the perceived costs and benefits of maintaining legacy versus next generation (Nextgen) aviation terminal navigation systems (NAVAIDS). The study tests the hypothesis that the cost-benefit ratio of upgrading NAVAIDs to Nextgen systems justifies the expense when compared to continuing to use existing legacy systems. The null hypothesis is that the cost-benefit ratio of upgrading
The subjects were 613 injured Army personnel Military Deployment Services TF Report 13 admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from March 2003 to September 2004 who were capable of completing the screening battery. Soldiers were assessed at approximately one month after injury and were reassessed at four and seven months either by telephone interview or upon return to the hospital for outpatient treatment. Two hundred and forty-three soldiers