Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
pop/rock musicians who fail to protect their hearing [24]. We have long recognized
that leisure use of firearms, which produce very loud impulsive sounds, can damage
the hearing of shooters if the ears are not protected [3]. One can ask if we have we
paid sufficient attention to the large number of soldiers and marines in Afghanistan
and Iraq who are exposed to roadside bombings and firefights, which come suddenly
and unexpectedly, leaving military personnel little or no time to protect their hear-
ing. Hearing loss and tinnitus have become serious problems among U.S. troops. As
reported by the National Institutes of Health, nearly 70,000 of our military who have
served in two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus and more than 58,000
are on disability for hearing loss [25].
Hearing loss also interferes with one's ability to communicate and interact
socially. Difficulties with hearing and communication can impair job performance,
interfere with new job opportunities, and may result in decreased earning power.
Sometimes people with hearing deficits refrain from interacting readily with oth-
ers and, in some cases, hearing loss can lead to a sense of isolation. Even if one's
hearing is fine, a noisy environment does not allow one's hearing to function opti-
mally and as a result interferes with conversations and social interaction. As noted
by the EPA, “For millions of Americans residing in noisy urban areas, the use of
outdoor areas for relaxed conversation is virtually impossible” [5]. A noisy environ-
ment may also make it difficult to hear sirens and other warning sounds essential to
safety.
4.4 Noise and Annoyance
Annoyance is a common reaction to sound that the hearer judges to be undesirable.
Annoyance can be defined as a feeling of displeasure associated with any agent
or condition that adversely affects the individual. As early as 1974, Miller viewed
annoyance as a common response to noise independent of the loudness of the sound
[26]. Earlier, Borsky examined a list of factors that he believed affected the accept-
ability or rejection of certain sounds. Amongst the factors he listed was the fear
of the sound, e.g., believing that the loud jet overhead may crash into your home.
Borsky believed that the dislike of the individual responsible for the noise, e.g., your
troublesome next-door neighbor, would contribute significantly to one's annoyance
[27]. Also, living in a neighborhood that has other problems increases the tendency
to be annoyed by community noises. One major factor, stressed by Berglund and
Lindvall [3] and Bronzaft, et al. [28], is that the noise intrudes on ongoing activities
such as television viewing, conversations, reading, and resting. Furthermore, Borsky
[29] and Weinstein [30] reported that individuals did not adapt to the intrusive noise;
in other words, over time, the noise continued to annoy them.
As to the sources of noise, Zaner in her review of survey data collected in the
1970's reported that motor vehicles and aircraft were found to be principle sources
of noise complaints [1]. That transportation is a major source of noise complaints
has been long recognized [3]; this has been recently underscored by the lawsuits
