When Pat and Nancy Feeney bought a seaside flat in Scotland, they were hoping for a peaceful retirement. Last year, builders began repair work on the ferry terminal opposite their home. Unfortunately, the work could only be done at low tide.
"They would start at 10:00 p.m. and go on for six hours," recalls Pat. "The next night they'd start an hour later for another six hours. The noise was tremendous."
The workmen used old and noisy equipment, and left open the acoustic doors supposed to silence the generators. "It was horrendous," says Pat. "It was stressful and we couldn't sleep. Each night we'd think, Is this going to start again tonight?"
Unwanted noise is a problem worth shouting about. Whether it's jack-hammering construction workers or your neighbor's 150-decibel sound system, it can result in mental and physical suffering. According to psychologist Arline Bronzaft, professor emeritus at Lehman College, City University of New York, toxic noise has been linked to stress, hypertension , cardiovascular disorders, and even deficits in children's learning and reading skills.
"People woken at 2:00 a.m. night after night become ratty, depressed , and can become violently angry," says Professor Stephen Palmer of London's Centre For Stress Management.
It's all about control, says Cary Cooper, professor of organizational psychology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in the United Kingdom.
"The key factor in our reaction to noise is the amount of control we have over it," he says. "Research has shown that a person can endure a considerable degree of loud noise, so long as the sound can be switched off at will. The thought 'I can control this' keeps the stress at a low level."
A second factor is that noise is unpredictable. The gentle hum of the office soda machine isn't a problem. The next-door neighbor getting carried away with his new power drill can unravel your sanity.
On a physical level, unwanted, excessive noise can affect physical health because it creates stress and can disrupt sleep.
"If you don't get a good night's sleep, you don't let your body repair itself, and you can't function well the next day," says Bronzaft.
There are several steps you can take to avoid letting noise affect you:
RESOURCES:
American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org
League for the Hard of Hearing
http://www.lhh.org/index.html
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Canadian Academy of Audiology
http://www.canadianaudiology.ca/
The Canadian Hearing Society
http://www.chs.ca/
References:
American Psychological Association website. Available at: http://www.apa.org.
League for the Hard of Hearing website. Available at: http://www.lhh.org/noise.
Mind Body Medical Institute website. Available at: http://www.mbmi.org.
Last reviewed February 2010 by Brian Randall, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © 2007 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.