NOISE POLLUTION

JOSÉ MORENO

The word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness.

The World Health Organization on the effects of noise:

• Noise seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities at school, at work, at home and during leisure time.

• Traffic noise alone is harming today the health of almost every third American

• Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human-, animal- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life.

• A common form of noise pollution is from transportation, principally motor vehicles.

• Pain and hearing fatigue• Hearing impairment • Annoyance• Interferences with social behavior (aggressiveness, protest and

helplessness)• Interference with speech communication;• Sleep disturbance and all its consequences on a long and short term

basis• Cardiovascular effects• Hormonal responses (stress hormones) and their possible

consequences on human metabolism (nutrition) and immune system

• Performance at work and school.