How Does Noise Pollution Affect Our Ears & Ways To Protect Our Ears?

Every individual gets exposed to Noise Pollution in some way or the other almost on an everyday basis. It can be in the form of loud music at home, working in a factory, being stuck in heavy traffic congestion while going to and returning from work. Over time, the Noise Pollution takes a toll on our ears without us being aware of it. We can protect ourselves from other environmental pollutants like smoke and dust but protecting our ears from Noise Pollution is a difficult task. Citing an example, the noise produced during a rock concert is in excess of 120 decibels and maximum sound that our ears can tolerate is 90 decibels. This extra 30 decibels of sound is extremely detrimental for our ears. Delineated below are some of the harmful effects of Noise Pollution on our ears.

The different ways in which Noise Pollution affects our ears are:

• Prolonged exposure to noise pollution may lead to hypertension. The more an individual is exposed to noise pollution the more increase in blood pressure readings.
• Constant and prolonged exposure to noise pollution may cause partial or complete hearing loss which may be temporary or permanent.
• Loud Noise intensifies the effect of alcohol, recreational drugs and effects of aging process adversely.
• It also alters the heartbeat adversely
• Noise pollution disturbs the working of the digestive system resulting in upset stomach, acid reflux and sometimes ulcers as well
• Noise pollution is very harmful for pregnant ladies as it can lead to premature childbirth
• Noise pollution also increases insomnia even when the noise has stopped.
• Loud noise can make an individual irritable, impatient and can lead to other emotionally related problems

The harmful effects of Noise Pollution are not experienced immediately but by consistent and prolonged exposure to it. Every time, an individual is exposed to loud noise, the ears get affected and over time this leads to health related concerns mentioned above.

If you work in a factory and cannot get rid of the Noise Pollution there are certain precautions that you can take to ensure that the ears do not get affected by the Noise Pollution. The precautions include:

• When working in a noisy environment such as a factory or in an office you can simply put a cotton ball inside you ears to protect the ears from getting damaged from the Noise Pollution around you.
• Try and avoid using heavy bass boost headphones when listening to MP3 players or iPods and if you cannot avoid it then put the music at a lower volume so as to protect the ear from any sort of damage. Also, try and avoid listening to music constantly for prolonged periods of time. It is best to hear music with headphones on for approximately an hour and then remove the headset and give the ears some rest so that they can recover from the loud noise of the music.
• If you listen to music with a lot of background noise then it is recommended to buy a headphones that has a noise cancelling system since background noise will require you to increase the volume which can harmful for the ear over time.
• Discuss with your employer about the noise pollution around the place of work which you are being exposed to on an everyday basis so that the employer can find you a place where you can work silently and protect your ears from Noise Pollution.
• While at a rock concert or in a movie theater try and cover the ears as best as possible so that you are both able to hear the sound and enjoy the event as well as protect the ears from Noise Pollution.

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Also Read:

• 5 Negative Health Side Effects of Noise Pollution