Noise and Quality of Life

Michael D Seidman,Robert Standring

doi:10.3390/ijerph7103730

Abstract

Noise is defined as an unwanted sound or a combination of sounds that has adverse effects on health. These effects can manifest in the form of physiologic damage or psychological harm through a variety of mechanisms. Chronic noise exposure can cause permanent threshold shifts and loss of hearing in specific frequency ranges. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is thought to be one of the major causes of preventable hearing loss. Approximately 10 million adults and 5.2 million children in the US are already suffering from irreversible noise induced hearing impairment and thirty million more are exposed to dangerous levels of noise each day. The mechanisms of NIHL have yet to be fully identified, but many studies have enhanced our understanding of this process. The role of oxidative stress in NIHL has been extensively studied. There is compelling data to suggest that this damage may be mitigated through the implementation of several strategies including anti-oxidant, anti-ICAM 1 Ab, and anti JNK intervention. The psychological effects of noise are usually not well characterized and often ignored. However, their effect can be equally devastating and may include hypertension, tachycardia, increased cortisol release and increased physiologic stress. Collectively, these effects can have severe adverse consequences on daily living and globally on economic production. This article will review the physiologic and psychologic consequences of noise and its effect on quality of life.

Highlights

Noise is typically defined as an unwanted sound or a combination of sounds that may adversely affect people
Psychological harm from noise exposure may manifest as increased physiologic stress response, adverse social consequences, sleep disturbance, and detrimental economic effects [1,2]
Occupational noise accounts for 16% of the disabling hearing loss in adults worldwide resulting in decreased economic production [5]

Summary

Introduction

Noise is typically defined as an unwanted sound or a combination of sounds that may adversely affect people. Noise can manifest in the form of physiologic damage or psychological harm. The mechanism of physiological damage from noise has yet to be fully understood, but research has demonstrated a multitude of factors including increased oxidative stress, vascular changes, and mechanical trauma may be responsible, to name a few. Psychological harm from noise exposure may manifest as increased physiologic stress response, adverse social consequences, sleep disturbance, and detrimental economic effects [1,2]. Occupational noise accounts for 16% of the disabling hearing loss in adults worldwide resulting in decreased economic production [5]. The purpose of this article is to review some of the recent literature on the physiological and psychological effects from noise and its relationship with quality of life

Mechanisms of Noise Induced Hearing Loss

Physiological Response to Noise

Findings

Conclusions