Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Yet, good health is more than the absence of physical ailments. If we give it a
broader definition that includes a decent quality of life, we will recognize that noise
has a deleterious effect on health. The World Health Organization does recognize
the adverse effects of noise on quality of life. Noise leads to stress in individuals
that indeed affects their physical well-being. In a study of airport-related noise, four
questions related to noise were embedded in a health-related questionnaire that was
distributed to a community living within a flight path (subjects did not know the
purpose of the study). A similar questionnaire was distributed to a community in
a non-flight area. There were significant differences between the two groups with
a higher percentage of those living in the flight path reporting that noise interfered
with life activities, e.g., talking on the phone, conversations at home, radio and tele-
vision, and sleep. Indeed their quality of life was diminished by the airport-related
noise. Those bothered by the airport-related noise also reported themselves to be in
poorer health, another indication that they were not experiencing a decent quality of
life [28].
Although there is still a need to conduct additional studies examining the
noise-health link, there appears to be a sufficient and increasing body of evidence
to support the warning that noise may be damaging to your health. It should be reit-
erated that Dr. William H. Stewart, former U.S. Surgeon General had the foresight
as early as 1969 to state: “Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people
everywhere” [5].
4.6 Effects of Noise on Children's Language, Cognition
and Learning
A large body of research confirms the deleterious effects of noise on children's
cognitive development, language development, and learning skills. Language devel-
opment starts in the home and too many young children are exposed to noises
within the home itself as well as intrusive noises from outside rail, road, and air
traffic. Wachs and Gruen [44] found that noisy households can impede a child's
cognitive and language development, whereas, Bronzaft, in her study, found that
high academic achievers, all members of Phi Beta Kappa, when asked about their
childhoods, noted quiet times in their homes to read, do homework, and think [45].
Evans and Lepore [40] in their review of effects of noise on children concluded that
residential noise delays early cognitive development.
When children attend schools that are near vehicular, rail, or air traffic they are
exposed to noises that disrupt the learning process. Bronzaft and McCarthy found
that passing elevated trains disrupted teaching time in the classrooms of a nearby
school by at least 11%. When the reading scores of 2nd, 4th and 6th graders attend-
ing classes near elevated train tracks were compared to children attending classes on
the quiet side of the building, the children exposed to train noise did more poorly,
with 6th graders being nearly one year behind in reading. In addition to missed
teaching time, the children exposed to train noise, when interviewed, said they found
