Ambient noise is intense in big cities.
Environmental noise is a concept that refers to unpleasant and even harmful sounds that modify the conditions considered normal or tolerable in a certain region. Excessive environmental noise causes what is known as noise pollution .
It should be noted that noise is a sound without articulation that is annoying. Environmental , for its part, is that linked to the environment (the context, the circumstances).
Environmental noise characteristics
Environmental noise is a typical problem in large cities. It is generated by actions carried out by humans , such as certain industrial or commercial activities, the traffic of motor vehicles and the playing of music at high volume. When these noises are produced simultaneously and for extended periods, they can cause damage to people's health.
Take the case of an individual whose house is located on an avenue . The ambient noise of the place can be formed by the engines and horns of cars and other means of transport, the machines used in the construction of a building, the music that comes from a dance venue and the drums and shouts of protesters. who protest in the place. All these environmental noises constitute noise pollution that can cause the person who lives on the avenue from difficulties resting to problems studying or concentrating at work, to inconveniences in the auditory system.
When environmental noise persists over time, it can cause hearing damage.
The socioacousia
Even though the noise is not so intense, if the auditory system is exposed to it for prolonged periods, it is inevitable that a negative effect will occur, which in this case is called socio-acusis . One of the most obvious symptoms of this problem is the presence of a "whistling" that only the affected person can perceive.
Hearing whistling as a result of exposure to environmental noise is a sign that your hearing is in trouble, and while this symptom may disappear in a few days, the condition will get worse unless the noise is eliminated, even to the point of death. deafness .
Minimize ambient noise
To minimize environmental noise, it is possible to use construction materials that absorb or isolate noise or act on the sources that cause pollution (encouraging the use of bicycles instead of cars, for example).
People who are born in a big city, where environmental noise is common, tend to become so accustomed to living with this problem that they only realize its seriousness when they spend some time in the countryside or somewhere quieter. Although it may be difficult to believe, there are those who, even having tasted peace, cannot help but long to return to the city , since they are too accustomed to its characteristics.
sound pressure level
To measure environmental noise and its impact, various indicators are used that are based on the sound pressure level . It, known by the abbreviations NPS or Lp , serves to identify the intensity of sound produced by a certain pressure, that is, the sound that an individual can perceive at a given moment. The unit used for its measurement is the decibel (dB) and its two extremes are the hearing threshold (0 db) and the pain threshold (120 dB).
On the other hand, we also talk about equivalent continuous sound pressure level (NPSeq) to define the constant sound pressure level (as mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is expressed in decibels) that has the same total energy (this is also called dose ) than the noise that has been measured. Other indicators are the sound exposure level , day-night equivalent level and the maximum and minimum peaks.