Notes
- During a single day, people living in a typical urban environment can experience a wide range of sounds in many locations, including shopping malls, schools, the workplace, recreational centers, and the home
- In its 1999 Guidelines for Community Noise, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared, "World-Wide, noise-induced hearing impairment is the most prevalent irreversible occupational hazard, and it is estimated that 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties
- Sound intensity is measured in decibels (dB); the unit A-weighted dB (dBA) is used to indicate how humans hear a given sound
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- In the United States, about 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous sound levels on the job, according to NIOSH
- Industries having a high number of workers exposed to loud sounds include construction, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and the military
- Secondhand Noise is increasingly used to describe noise that is experienced by people who did not produce it and is also has negative effects in the workplace
- Noise is indeed everywhere, and experts expect no decrease in noise levels, given the powerful impact of technology on modern life
- For many young people, changing their environment and their behavior would be a wise and healthy move
- "Many baby boomers began losing their hearing when the amplification of popular music came into vogue in the nineteen sixties," says Cruz
- Studies have revealed that as children grow they are exposed to sounds that can threaten their health and cause learning problems
- Other human and animal studies also have linked noise exposure to chronic changes in blood pressure and heart rate
- In the United States, the Noise Control Act of 1972 empowered the EPA to determine noise limits to protect the public health and welfare, and to establish a noise control office
- Congress did establish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC), as well as federal standards for business, industries, and communities, and it did begin researching the effects of sound exposures
- Activists believe that closing the ONAC has had a tremendous negative effect at the state and local level
Summary
People in their daily lives when living in an urban environment deal with a wide variety of sounds in different locations such as the shopping malls, schools, recreational centers, the home and the workplace. The issue of sound apparently seems to be a problem as many of the new generations are starting to see tests of defects in their body as they are suffering now from hearing problems. The issue of noise-induced hearing impairment is the most prevalent irreversible occupational hazard, and it is estimated that 120 million people worldwide have disabling hearing difficulties. Many of the U.S. occupancies nowadays are surrounded by loud noises that have the ability to impair many people's hearings such as construction, mining, transportation and etc. Another issue coming up is the Secondhand Noise which is increasing due to describe noise that is experienced by people who did not produce it and is also has negative effects in the workplace. This issue is starting to be seen as a more future problem with many babies starting to have hearing problems from birth as it is becoming a trait and should be seen as a concern. Many of the hearing issues have been related to human and animal studies which is linked to noise exposure to chronic changes in blood pressure and heart rate. The U.S. created the Noise Control Act of 1972 which was able to empower the EPA to determine noise limits to protect the public health and welfare, and to establish a noise control office.
Opinion
In my opinion I think this is a very serious issue as this will leave many of the new generations to become eventually born deaf. This will leave our youth more vulnerable and will only be able to blame ourselves. I believe that these problems need to be fixed or find a way to reduce the amount of harm done to the ear as it is one of our 5 senses that we need in order to survive. Without one of these senses can cause the human to be vulnerable, work needs to be done to give a brighter issue. I believe that companies who do work in these types of areas should be wearing protective head gear such as noise cancel headphones as it will indeed make the difference for their hearing. I believe that this may indeed sound silly, it should still taken seriously regardless of how it may sound as I don't want our future generations to lose a sense that is important to living. I believe that adding the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) was the best to help the issue but still more work needs to be done if anything wants to get done.