In an era increasingly dominated by overstimulation, noise is becoming more than a nuisance, it’s emerging as a serious public health concern. In their article titled “Ambient Noise Is the New Secondhand Smoke”, authors Erica Walker and Richard Neitzel draw a direct parallel between excessive ambient noise exposure and involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. Both are often unavoidable, both cause biological harm, and both demand urgent societal and regulatory attention.
Flower of Sound supports a future where sonic environments are designed with intentionality, care, and well-being in mind, from immersive listening spaces to restorative sound tools for health, focus, and presence. We also encounter a lot of noise pollution when we try to record nature sounds. Even in the most remote places, it is rare to find true silence without human interference. The number of times we have been disrupted by a plane, a distant motorcycle, or the most unpredictable human sounds is remarkable. Sound recording, in that sense, is a kind of lottery and highlights how much we are subjected to human-generated noise. In a way, we are lucky that we can produce our own ‘noise’ to mask the unwanted sounds.
Key Health Effects of Noise Pollution
Just as science eventually exposed the dangers of secondhand smoke, emerging acoustic research is revealing that chronic environmental noise like traffic, HVAC systems, open offices, transit, background hums, can seriously damage health and human function, even at levels previously considered safe.
1. Hearing Damage at Lower Levels Than Expected
While it’s widely known that loud sound can damage hearing, the thresholds are lower than many people assume. Single exposures to loud noise can cause tinnitus, temporary threshold shifts, or hyperacusis. Chronic exposure has been linked to irreversible hearing loss, even in people with no workplace exposure.
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25% of U.S. adults aged 20–69 show signs of noise-induced hearing loss.
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Many of these individuals have no occupational exposure, indicating environmental sources.
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The threshold for hearing damage may be as low as 75–78 dB(A).
2. Sleep Disturbance
Sleep can be disrupted by noise as low as 30 dB(A). Even if a person doesn’t fully wake up, EEG changes and heart rate increases can occur.
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Long-term effects of sleep disturbance include impaired cognition, immune suppression, and increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
3. Disruption of Cognitive Function
Noise interferes with attention, learning, and communication.
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Children in noisy classrooms show delayed reading scores.
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Office workers exposed to ambient noise have reduced productivity.
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Speech comprehension becomes difficult at 60–70 dB(A), especially for people with hearing loss.
4. Non-Auditory Health Effects
Chronic exposure to ambient noise triggers physiological stress responses:
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Increases in blood pressure and heart rate.
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Endothelial inflammation, which contributes to cardiovascular disease.
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Associations with obesity, diabetes, reproductive issues, and mental health disorders.
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At just 55 dB Lden (a time-weighted 24h average), ambient noise is associated with a range of non-auditory health effects.
Health Effects by Noise Level
|
Sound Level |
Effect |
|---|---|
|
30 dB(A) [LAeq(8)] |
Sleep disruption |
|
45 dB (Ldn) |
Interferes with concentration and learning |
|
45 dB (LAmax) |
Causes sleep disturbance |
|
55 dB (Lden – 24h avg) |
Onset of non-auditory health impacts (e.g., cardiovascular) |
|
60 dB(A) (LAmax) |
Speech interference (especially for people with hearing loss) |
|
70 dB [LAeq(24)] |
Upper bound to prevent hearing loss |
|
70 dB(A) (LAmax) |
Speech interference (normal hearing) |
|
85 dB(A) [LAeq(8)] |
Max recommended workplace exposure (8h/day) |
|
85 dB(A) [LAeq(1)] |
Max public exposure (1h/day) to prevent hearing damage |
Lack of Regulation and Public Awareness
Despite the mounting evidence, ambient noise remains largely unregulated. The U.S. for instance has no enforceable federal standards for non-occupational noise exposure. A commonly cited “safe” level (85 dB) is often misinterpreted, and incorrectly assumed to be harmless without time limits. The World Health Organization, by contrast, recommends limiting public exposure to 85 dB(A) to just 1 hour per day.
The article underscores that noise control is not mysterious or technologically difficult it simply requires political will and acoustic literacy. Reducing sound at the source is far more effective than trying to block or mask it later.
This article is based on:
Walker, E. & Neitzel, R. (2023). Ambient Noise Is “The New Secondhand Smoke.” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 153(1), 25-27.
