95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! 

95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Getty Images
95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Getty Images

United States: If you live in a city, somewhere like close to a highway, or near an airport, you are likely used to hearing loud sounds like sirens, big trucks, or airplanes. Many people hear these loud noises every day—about 1 in 3 people in the U.S. But experts say that this noise can be bad for your health. 

As reported by Yahoo life, It is known as “noise pollution,” and it impacts about 95 million people in the United States. Now, the authorities are warning that high noise intensity might be to blame for hearing damage all the way up to cardiovascular diseases. Here’s what to know. 

What is noise pollution? 

Earlier, noise pollution was defined as “unwanted sound,” specialists inform Yahoo Life. But that’s subjective. “My music could be sound to me and noise to you,” Rick Neitzel, a University of Michigan professor of environmental health, who conducts research on auditory exposure, said. Since 1968, noise induced health risks have been identified in the USA, the term has only in 2021 been broadened from” noise” to” unwanted and/or harmful sound”. 

95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Shutterstock
95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Shutterstock

When somebody hears an unwanted sound that is detrimental to their well-being this qualifies as noise pollution according to Jamie Banks, the founder and president of Quiet Communities

In what way does noise pollution cause affect those exposed to it? 

You already know that exposure to loud sounds including music, is likely to harm your hearing, but there are more health risks associated with noise. In addition to auditory damage, noise that is loud, constant, at specific frequencies or cyclic with some intervals for a long period of time is capable of activating at least segments of the stress response system. 

 “Sound is interpreted by the brains as introduction to an organ known as the amygdala that is in charge of factors such as managing emotions as well as stress,” adds Banks. Lack of portion control also triggers a “physiological cascade of events,” it slows down your blood, raises your blood sugar and pressure and “ultimately causes damage to the blood vessels,” she says. As a result, noise can affect: Some of things that you can do to minimize exposure to noise pollution. 

95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Dreamstime
95 Million Americans at Risk: The Hidden Dangers of Noise Pollution! Credit | Dreamstime

It is quite clear that all the three specialists believe that excessive noise is undoubtedly an issue that has to be solved at the level of society rather than depending on individuals.  

The Environmental Protection Agency regulates noise and is now “essentially unfunded,” according to the agency. Federal regulators have basically abandoned their leadership in their space and the left individuals to fend for themselves, and that is not how the public health is supposed to go says Neitzel and that’s particularly problematic says the experts because the noise pollution is worse in the neighborhoods that are poorer and have larger populations of the color.