The effect of noise on humans
Man has five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. The most essential of the senses is, without question, the sense of sight. It is crucial to our managing our education and work.
After sight, the sense that is generally considered to be the second most important is the sense of hearing. It is primarily through speech and hearing that we communicate with one another. Hearing is also our most sensitive and important warning mechanism. It receives impressions from every direction and is open for impulses when a person is awake as well as asleep.
Modern society has created an environment in which the ear is the sensory organ most frequently and most easily damaged. The human ear is not designed to endure or exclude much of the sound and noise that exist in the industrial society of today. Therefore, the ear can be seriously injured by loud and repetitive noise.
Loss of hearing can result in a person being partially or completely isolated from his surroundings. Such a loss can never be restored.
In the past, a noisy machine was a symbol of strength, power, and wealth. People accustomed themselves to the noise, i.e., they accepted it as the noisy machine meant income and existence. The fact that those exposed to the noise became hard of hearing or practically deaf was considered a natural part of the occupation. Today, we no longer need to accept this rationalization. There are possibilities to reduce or eliminate noise, both in the workplace and in our private lives. It is simply a matter of making people aware of the dangers and the possibilities so that we can take action against noise.
Many experts and researchers view noise pollution as one of the most major of today’s environmental problems.