Silence is going extinct
And why it should concern you
“The day will come when man will have to fight noise as inexorably as cholera and the plague.”
German scientist Robert Koch made this prediction in 1905, comparing noise with two of the deadliest diseases in history. Is noise the man-made plague of the 21st century?
According to the WHO it is the second largest environmental cause of health issues in Western Europe, just after air pollution.
Yet, in our cacophonous world, noise is not commonly thought of as a source of ill-health, but rather as a side effect of modern life. Environmental noise surrounds us wherever we are, in public spaces, in our cars, at cultural events, in restaurants, even at home.
The chattering of crowds, revving of engines, honking of cars, banging of train doors, humming of electricity poles, screeching of construction work, buzzing of refrigerators, whirring of projectors, rumbling of washing machines, beeping of phones, are taken for granted in our everyday urban experience. They are the unavoidable results of the conveniences of city life — with its developed infrastructure and technology.
But at what cost? What is the scope of the impacts caused by noise exposure?
According to the European Environmental Agency “Twenty…
