NOISE POLLUTION IS A LURKING DANGER TO HEALTH

Mar 16, 2025 Consumer Concerns, Features / Columnists, News, Waterfalls Magazine

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

   By PAT  DIAL

Kaieteur News- Hearing impairment ranges from being “hard of hearing” to complete deafness. Ear ailment could be due to several factors:Tinnitus where strange bell- like sounds assail the ear;  Vertigo where the head feels that it is spining making it impossible to stand up;  Severe Headaches;   Inflammation and Discharge from the middle ear;  Alzheimer disease;  Neurological conditions such as Stroke and Brain Tumor and even taking certain drugs or treatments such as chemotherapy.  All these various factors which could lead to hearing loss are however dwarfed by Noise Pollution or excessive noise exposure. This article would therefore be involved with Noise Pollution since it is by far the most important and overarching cause of hearing impairment.

The sounds to the ear are measured in decibels.  70 to 80 decibels are the norm which the ear could bear without any negative effects; beyond 80 decibels, the ear could begin to pain and at 140 decibels, deafness would begin to manifest.  Our modern world is one which is enveloped in human generated sounds, especially so in urbanized societies and many of these sounds are beyond 100 decibels and would begin to impair hearing. Examples of such noise polluters are modern industrial machines, noise generated by entertainments and youth parties with their loud music amplified, public transport which plays amplified music,  music emanating from late night celebrations disturbing normally quiet neighbourhoods,  motorcycles where the noise controlling mechanisms had been removed, bars and heavy construction sites. These and other noise polluters cause hearing impairment to large segments of the population.

Hearing impairment and deafness have severe emotional and social effects and reduce the quality of life.  It results in depression; anger; feelings of irretrievable failure and withdrawal from life.  The sufferer moves away from social life since he or she is unable to understand or be understood in social gatherings and will not be able to sustain himself or herself in the work situation and would be disqualified from finding new employment.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, there was little help or relief that was afforded to sufferers who were often ridiculed and isolated, especially among working class people.  Among middle class people, there was more understanding since many were acquainted with stories of deaf persons who had contributed to society such as Ludwig Van Beethoven.  Until the 1930’s medical help was confined to trying to remove wax from the ear and the use of ear funnels.  After World War II, the Department of Health was able to recruit from overseas a few Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists (ENT) and these introduced modern treatments.

In addition to the Public  and Private Health Sectors improving the quality of service with the use of modern devices and equipment such as various types of hearing aids and the use of  a wider range of medications, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Presidential Commission for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (PCPND) have been addressing loss of hearing and ear health from a societal standpoint as distinct from the Medical.

The EPA, among its duties of regulating all noise making activity such as Mining, is particularly focused on controlling the noise emanating from construction works now that the country is experiencing a boom in the construction industry.  It is also engaged in training the Police in the academic aspects of noise pollution, as for example, the concept of decibels which would help to bring more effectiveness to their operational activities.

The Ministry of Health has begun screening babies to detect hearing deficiencies so treatment could be administered early with a much better chance of success.  The Ministry of Health together with the Ministry of Education have been engaged in testing the eyes and ears of school children and giving them the prescribed spectacles and hearing aids and medications.  This program for school children is ongoing.

The Police have the responsibility of controlling noise in public places such as  excessive noise on the public transport caused by loud music, noisy bars and parties and people in normally quiet neighbourhoods playing very loud music . The Police are often frustrated by the perpetrators of such noise pollution turning down or turning off such noise polluting instruments when the Police are approaching and continuing as soon as the Police would have departed.  Public Authorities are however aware that noise pollution could only be controlled or eliminated by a change in the Culture of the population and this is being addressed in the schools and by public education.

(NOISE POLLUTION IS A LURKING DANGER TO HEALTH)

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