High-decibel sound can kill. This warning is often taken lightly by people, especially younger people who love loud music. Loud DJ music proved fatal for the father of a groom in the southern Odisha town of Malkangiri last week. The 65-year-old man, who had a pacemaker in place, collapsed during the marriage procession, his heartbeats apparently thrown out of rhythm by the blaring DJ music. He died even before the baraat could reach the bride’s place.
The tragedy in Malkangiri is an example of what noise can do to people. Screeching car alarms, shrieking trains and even the dull rumble of planes can be extremely disturbing. Loud noises can drive you mad. But besides being a source of annoyance, they can also have an adverse impact on one’s health.
According to a new study, an increasing amount of noise can actually throw your heart out of rhythm. Called atrial fibrillation, this irregular heart beat can lead to blood clots, strokes and even heart failure. Medical experts say that anything that can create agitation, irritation, or changes in blood pressure can trigger fibrillation. So irritable or extremely loud noise causing this in the cardiac system is easy to understand.
There are so many studies that throw light on the risks of long-term exposure to noise. And there is reason to believe that it is not just the level of sound, but the types of sounds themselves that are to blame. According to one expert, loud noise exposure can damage or destroy hair cells found within the human hearing organ. This is highly dangerous because there are about 10,000 tiny hair cells inside our ears responsible for converting every sound we hear into electrical signals which then get transferred to the hearing centres in our brains that allow us to appreciate sound, speech, and music while minimizing any unnecessary background noise. Excessive noise damages these cells.
Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or over 85 decibels can lead to what is called noise-induced hearing loss. It can damage the delicate nerve endings that transfer the electrical information from the hair cells inside the ears to the brain, causing inflammatory reactions within the brain.
Unfortunately, we are living in a time when it is almost impossible to avoid high-decibel and irritable sounds, including the harsh noise of traffic. An international report termed noise pollution “a raucous killer” and said that unwanted, prolonged, and loud sounds from road traffic, railways, or leisure activities can impair human health and well-being. The tragedy in Malkangiri has come as a timely warning for all those who do not take the noise pollution issue seriously. The threat is real. We may ignore it at our own peril.
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