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Figure 10.1 - Comparison of sound pressure and sound pressure level

10.2 Effects of Noise on the Human Body

Some undesirable effects of the noise on human health:
 specific damage of hearing organs;
 psychiatric disorders;
 neurosis;

 hypertension;
 function disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
 cardiovascular system disorders.
Noise disease is an occupational disease associated with a combination of
occupational hearing loss and disorders of the central nervous system and the
cardiovascular system in workers in noisy environments.
As well as permanent and temporary hearing loss, noise-related conditions
include: tinnitus (ringing in the ears), which can be painful and may lead to sleep
disturbance; acoustic trauma; perforated eardrum; and hyperacusis (which can
develop after sudden exposure to high sound levels and the sufferer may then find
certain sounds uncomfortably or even painfully loud). Exposure to noise has been
linked to heart disease and high blood pressure, especially in pregnant workers, and
noise may affect the hearing of the unborn child. Noise plus exposure to solvents has
a synergistic effect, causing greater noise-induced hearing loss than exposure to noise
alone.
Exposure to noise reduces our ability to hear higher frequencies and so
interferes in our ability to hear human speech clearly, resulting in the noise-induced
hearing loss (which differs from age-induced hearing loss). The inability to hear what
is being said, to use a telephone or take part in the conversation in social situations
can lead to social exclusion and additional health risks.

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