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When you think about pollution you probably imagine a smog-filled city, or an ocean choking on plastic.
But pollution extends beyond what’s in the air and the water. Noise pollution, the noise we live with every day, is a growing problem, and it’s affecting our hearing.
Unsurprisingly, noise pollution is particularly bad in cities. A recent study found that Guangzhou in China had the worst noise pollution, while Zurich in Switzerland had the least.
The Worldwide Hearing Index was created by digital hearing app founders Mimi Hearing Technologies GmbH. They analysed the hearing test results of 200,000 of their users.
They combined their results with data on noise pollution from the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as from SINTEF, a Norwegian-based research organization, and used it to plot noise pollution in 50 different cities.
SE Asia is in the well represented with 9 cities in the worst top 20, lot’s to improve !
Typical sources of noise pollution are transport, such as road, rail and air traffic, construction and industry, and radios and televisions blaring in shops, restaurants and bars.
Millions of teenagers and young adults are at risk of developing hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices such as smartphones and MP3 players and exposure to damaging levels
of sound at noisy entertainment venues including nightclubs, discotheques, bars, pubs and sporting
events. The emerging pattern of listening regularly at high volume and for a long duration poses a serious
threat to one’s hearing. Hearing is a precious faculty, which impacts educational, professional and social
development.
Noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented
CSIR–National Physical Lab
Airport MRT trial run smooth, despite noise concerns
Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line has been running smoothly since it started trial runs Feb. 2, although there have been noise concerns in one of the neighborhoods through which it passes, the authority that oversees the line’s construction said Tuesday.
The system has been stable as of Feb. 6, the Bureau of High Speed Rail said, adding that the line has carried 34,000 passengers during the five-day period.
There remain some minor bugs in the system, such as signal displays and early checked-in luggage processing, but they are expected to be fixed before the line’s commercial operations begin March 2, the bureau said.
However, more evaluation is required about the noise problem in a New Taipei neighborhood, said bureau Deputy Chief Engineer Jao Kuo-cheng (饒國政).
“We have already installed acoustic walls, but they do not seem to be effective,” he said.
According to the local environment agency, the line is generating around 75 decibels of noise in the area in question, slightly below the maximum limit of 85 decibels but enough to cause complaints from local residents, especially during late hours.
Jao said the bureau will look into the problem and draft a plan in two months to improve the situation.
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The main contractor and sub-contractors of the construction works at Queen Elizabeth Hospital caused noise nuisance by conducting works during holidays. They were convicted and fined a total of $60,000 at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts today (October 26) for contravening the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO).
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said that the department received a public complaint this April against construction works being carried out during holidays at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Yau Ma Tei. EPD staff hence conducted a surprise check at a construction site in the hospital on a Sunday, and found a worker carrying out construction works using an electric grinder.
The emitted noise affected hospital users as the construction site was only 20 metres away from Block D of the hospital. In addition, the contractor and its sub-contractors did not possess a valid Construction Noise Permit (CNP). The EPD subsequently initiated prosecutions against the main contractor and its sub-contractors of the construction works under the NCO upon completion of evidence collection.
According to the NCO, anyone who uses powered mechanical equipment for construction works or carries out prescribed construction works (such as handling debris or hammering) in a designated area during restricted hours (between 7pm and 7am the next day on weekdays or any time on a public holiday) shall apply for a CNP.
The construction works shall commence only when the CNP has been granted upon completion of assessment to support that its noise level would comply with regulatory requirements. First-time offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $100,000. A maximum fine of $200,000 may be imposed on second or subsequent convictions.
The spokesman reminded members of the construction sector that they should manage and arrange their works properly.
They should neither use powered mechanical equipment nor carry out prescribed construction works in a designated area during restricted hours. Even with a valid CNP, they should carry out works in strict accordance with the permit, and should also adopt practicable noise mitigation measures, including the erection of fences and noise barriers at the sites, to reduce the impact of noise on the public nearby as far as practicable.
Delhi’s RTR Flyover May Get Noise Barrier Costing INR 20 Cr
Jugaad is the exact word when we find a temporary solution for the not-so-temporary problem. And, if a necessary step is not taken in time, someone suffers. So, after years of ‘juggad’, the residents of the RTR flyover area finally have some good news coming.
The existing 900-metre flyover ( which was built in 2009), was a single carriageway till it was decided (in 2014) to construct a parallel one to decongest the existing one. But, the construction kept getting delayed sometimes due to residents moving to court and other hindrances. So, to be precise this new flyover will be 2.7-km-long and the project is expected to be completed by June 2018.
So here is the problematic scenario,
To construct this parallel flyover, the Public Works Department (PWD) sought Central Road Research Institute’s (CRRI) help. They asked them to study the noise pattern in the nearby areas.
According to the research, it was concluded that noise was loudest during the day at 78-82 dB and further by 10 dB during the night. And this would continue happening if they kept using the current noise barrier, which costs around Rs 1.5 Cr. But, as per standards, the noise limit is 55db in residential areas during the day and 45db in the night. Vasant Vihar, West End and Anand Niketan, Munirka and other areas near Rao Tula Ram Flyover will be affected.
The good news is the CRRI has suggested installing the micro-perforated noise barriers which will absorb noise, unlike the reflective ones which just reflects it and then install them in the nearby areas too.
Here is what Nasim Akhtar, a scientist with CRRI, who has performed the study has to say on the subject.
He said, “We have recommended noise barrier at the flyover as it passes through residential areas. Such noise barriers are used in Taiwan, China and we recently got them installed at BR Ambedkar flyover in Mumbai. This barrier will reduce the noise by 18db-20 dB. It has small holes and the noise from the traffic will go to a box and be absorbed there. The height of the barrier should be 3.5 meters.”
As per their report, “Various traffic surveys in tandem with noise and vibration monitoring were conducted at four locations falling on the flyover corridor to understand the traffic scenario and the noise generated. Due to joints in flyover span, an approximately 10db noise will increase at flyover in the night time. Maximum noise level can even cross 100db.”
“A good noise barrier should be lightweight yet strong and durable, and should also be water/fire resistant. It should also be easy to maintain and assemble and disintegrate,” the report further said. This what a PWD official had to say on after the study has been conducted.
He said, “We have got the study conducted to understand the pattern. They have recommended the high-quality barriers and it is up to the government to decide.”
FYI, Block, concrete, wood or metal, without any added treatment or design behave like the reflective wall. And here is a look at how Absorptive Noise Barrier Walls are a better solution than the Reflective Barrier Walls.
Trial scheme focuses on non-environmentally friendly and noisy planes – instead of just restricting flights at night
Airlines in Hong Kong are being encouraged to use cleaner and quieter aircraft in return for the chance to operate more flights at night.
A trial is under way for airlines flying out of Hong Kong International Airport to phase out older planes, as such flights contribute to noise pollution – a serious issue at night for nearby residents.
As an incentive, compliance will be rewarded with opportunities to operate more late evening, overnight and early morning flights. The scheme looks to focus on the cause of pollution problems rather than restricting aircraft movements, aviation authorities say.
The trial has already been in effect since March, and is expected to see benefits towards the end of the year if the plan continues on a full-time basis.
“The overarching objective of the quota count scheme is to encourage airlines to use more environmentally friendly aircraft at Hong Kong’s airport,” a spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Department said.
Under the system, the noisier an aircraft the more points each flight accumulates. By switching to quieter planes fewer points are racked up.
Points go into a pool shared by all airlines, meaning they work together to minimise them and then each shares an equal chance of obtaining new night flight slots.
The scheme was inspired by an identical initiative in Britain.
Amid soaring demand and a lack of space for new daytime flights, the airport is shifting focus to night operations, with dozens of take-off and landing slots to be made available in coming years.
Hong Kong’s biggest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, has moved to phase out older aircraft or swap noisier planes with the quieter and more fuel-efficient Airbus A350 on routes such as those to Auckland, Melbourne and Dusseldorf.
Living with noise pollution: Serangoon, Bukit Timah and Clementi among the noisiest neighbourhoods in Singapore
For the past three decades, Mr K.C. Tang, 72, and his wife have been communicating by shouting at each other.
Even then, the couple can barely make out what each other is saying, due to the unceasing cacophony of horns, sirens and revving engines from the Central Expressway (CTE) around 40m away from their three-room flat at Block 115, Potong Pasir Avenue 1.
Said Mr Tang, a retiree, with a sigh: “We have grown used to this.”
Over in Yew Tee and Choa Chu Kang, where MRT tracks are within spitting distance from some Housing Board blocks, residents say that they, too, have become accustomed to living with noise.
Choa Chu Kang resident Nadia Begum, 29, whose home is some 30m away from a stretch of MRT track where a train rattles past every few minutes, said: “Closing all the windows is not sufficient. We have to use pillows over our heads to muffle the noises at night.”
Mr Tang and Ms Begum are among the tens of thousands living next to busy roads, MRT tracks, construction sites and shopping malls around Singapore, who are coping with din just outside their homes.
A new study from the National University of Singapore (NUS) found that Singapore’s average outdoor sound level throughout the day is 69.4 decibels, which is equivalent to the noise made by a vacuum cleaner.
This exceeds the National Environmental Agency’s recommendation of no more than 67 decibels averaged over an hour, and is a whisker shy of the World Health Organisation threshold of 70 decibels a day. Consistent exposure to that level can cause hearing impairment.
The study – led by NUS graduate student Diong Huey Ting and Professor William Hal Martin, who heads the university’s masters in audiology programme – took 18,768 outdoor sound measurements between last December and February to determine how noisy Singapore is. Worryingly, around 27 per cent of the gathered data exceeded 70 decibels, said Ms Diong.
The study also identified the noisiest places in Singapore. Serangoon tops the list of planning zones, with an average of 73.1 decibels from more than 100 noise readings.
Said Ms Diong, 27: “In densely populated Singapore, common amenities like shopping malls, hawker centres and playgrounds all contribute to community noise, on top of that created by traffic.”
Noise pollution is inevitable in big bustling cities around the world and Singapore is experiencing it too.
While there are no comparative studies, anecdotally, the city has become noisier over the years as it continues to develop – with more expressways, longer MRT lines and the cycle of construction and demolition playing out over and over again.
This is on top of new trends like the growing popularity of integrated mixed-use developments, with retail spaces, offices, transport hubs and homes in the same complex.
This worries Mr Spencer Tan, 30, of noise monitoring firm Dropnoise. “Even those who live on the higher floors will not be spared since sound travels upwards.”
To try to mitigate against noise pollution, the Government has put in place several measures, including tighter enforcement of construction sites and urban planning regulations. Several solutions are still undergoing trials and may be rolled out in the coming years.
But some are concerned that these measures may not be able to keep pace with a growing nation.
Mr Tang’s home became noisier when the CTE was widened from a three-lane to a four-lane dual carriageway in 2012 to accommodate more traffic. Said Mr Tang in Mandarin: “We complained then, but nothing much can be done about it since it is impossible to fight progress.”
Dropnoise, which produces noise reports for residents and condominium managements, has seen business boom since it started the monitoring service last year.
Mr Tan gets more than three inquiries from frustrated residents to attend to every week. Its reports can be used in court action against noisy neighbours, or submitted to regulatory bodies as proof of noise pollution.
Within Mr Tang’s home, for example, Dropnoise, using a sensitive sound meter, recorded an average of 66.6 decibels over a five- minute period.
“This means that the resident is hearing a constant background noise equivalent to a loud conversation. He will have to speak louder if he wants to be heard,” said Mr Tan.
Since the problem of noise pollution is here to stay, doctors said residents should be more aware of ways to protect their hearing. These include the use of hearing protection, such as ear plugs and ear muffs, as a temporary solution, said the head of Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH’s) otolaryngology department, Dr Barrie Tan.
Dr Low Wong Kein, senior ear specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, said besides hearing impairment, constant exposure to loud noises can cause health problems such as hypertension and heart disease.
Psychologist Nishta Geetha Thevaraja from the SGH department of psychiatry said personal and work relationships can be affected by irritability and anger issues brought about by noise pollution. Those who have become accustomed to loud noises are “usually unaware of these implicit effects noise pollution has on their lives”, she added.
World Health Organisation guidelines say 70 decibels is the sound level which – if someone is exposed to it consistently for a full day – can lead to hearing impairment. Here’s how Singapore and other cities stack up.
SINGAPORE
The mean noise level is 69.4 decibels, according to an NUS study. It is averaged from more than 18,000 sound readings taken over a 2½-month period.
NEW YORK CITY
Noise generally hovers around 70 decibels on the streets of Manhattan, according to measurements taken by magazine NYMag.
TAINAN
A 2009 traffic noise study conducted in Taiwan’s Tainan city in 2009 found that 90 per cent of the population was exposed to more than an average of 62 decibels during peak hours.
HONG KONG
In one of Asia’s busiest financial hubs, 13.6 per cent of the population is exposed to a noise level of above 70 decibels, according to the government’s Environmental Protection Department.
SHANGHAI
Road noise on Shanghai’s streets hits an average of 71.9 decibels during the day and drops to 65.9 decibels at night, according to newspaper Shanghai Daily.
People who will see it for the first time might actually think that there was some sort of a collision between a train and a building: the light railway train in China called the Chongqing Rail Transit No.2 literally travels inside a residential building in the city of Chongqing.
This special railway station was strategically constructed into the sixth to eighth floors of the 19-story block of residential flats in southwest China’s Chongqing. Chongqing Rail Transit No.2 goes through the hole at the center of the building where the residents can directly hop on the train in their own Liziba station.
According to the Telegraph, the idea of Chongqing Rail Transit No.2’s route in the said residential tower has been built in response to space issues due to increasing number of skyscrapers along Chongqing which thereafter obstructs the construction of railway systems. At present, Chongqing is the largest municipality in China with over 49 million residents. It is located in southwest China and is one of the country’s five central cities.
An interview by China News to one of the residents in the ninth floor of the residential building confirmed that from the beginning of the operations of Chongqing Rail Transit No.2, residents have never experienced any noise nuisance and complaints. As a matter of fact, the resident furthered that the noise generated by the large vehicles on street are actually louder compared to the noise made by Chongqing Rail Transit No.2.
Ye Tianyi, Design Lead of the station, explained that the support structures of the building are alienated by about 20 centimetres from the pillars of the rail. Therefore, the building does not feel the intensity of the vibrations coming from the train.
“It isn’t really noise and doesn’t hurt the ears,” the resident said. Chongqing Rail Transit No.2. only produces 75.8 decibels of sound because the train usually runs on rubber tires with air suspension on them, making it one of the quietest rail lines in the world.
Washington, March 12
Gentle sound stimulation such as the rush of a waterfall synchronised to the rhythm of brain waves – also known as pink noise – may significantly enhance deep sleep in older adults and improve their ability to recall words, a new study has found.Deep sleep is critical for memory consolidation.
However, beginning in middle age, deep sleep decreases substantially, which scientists believe contributes to memory loss in ageing.The sound stimulation significantly enhanced deep sleep in participants and their scores on a memory test.”This is an innovative, simple and safe non-medication approach that may help improve brain health,” said Phyllis Zee, professor at Northwestern University in the US.”This is a potential tool for enhancing memory in older populations and attenuating normal age-related memory decline,” said Zee.In the study, 13 participants received one night of acoustic stimulation and one night of sham stimulation.The sham stimulation procedure was identical to the acoustic one, but participants did not hear any noise during sleep. For both sessions, the individuals took a memory test at night and again the next morning.Recall ability after the sham stimulation generally improved on the morning test by a few percent. However, the average improvement was three times larger after pink-noise stimulation.
The degree of slow wave sleep enhancement was related to the degree of memory improvement, suggesting slow wave sleep remains important for memory, even in old age.Although the scientists have not yet studied the effect of repeated nights of stimulation, this method could be a viable intervention for longer-term use in the home, Zee said.Previous research showed acoustic simulation played during deep sleep could improve memory consolidation in young people.But it has not been tested in older adults.The new study targeted older individuals – who have much more to gain memory-wise from enhanced deep sleep – and used a novel sound system that increased the effectiveness of the sound stimulation in older populations.
The study used a new approach, which reads an individual’s brain waves in real time and locks in the gentle sound stimulation during a precise moment of neuron communication during deep sleep, which varies for each person.During deep sleep, each brain wave or oscillation slows to about one per second compared to 10 oscillations per second during wakefulness.Giovanni Santostasi, a study coauthor, developed an algorithm that delivers the sound during the rising portion of slow wave oscillations. This stimulation enhances synchronisation of the neurons’ activity.After the sound stimulation, the older participants’ slow waves increased during sleep.The study was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. — PTI
