According to Andrea Bartz in Harpers Bazaar, street noise is getting louder. The major reason for this? Nobody is doing anything about it.
Traffic noise in New York is between 70 and 85 decibels. Other cities in Europe show levels which exceed 55 decibels, while anything over 30 decibels can disturb sleep or learning. Noise is harmful to children’s learning and to our health, too many people underestimate the consequences of noise. In Australia's cities, traffic noise often exceeds 67 decibels, which is considered by the Queensland Government as an extreme level of noise.
Studies referenced in the article report that noise is stressful and is connected with higher cancer, heart disease, obesity or other myriad conditions. This constant surge of stress hormones, can restructure the brain and develop tumor, heart disease or respiratory disorders. Nowadays, we get constant stress-hormone gushes from ringing phones, car alarms, leaf blowers or many other things.
A Greek study showed that every 10-decibel upsurge which occurs through an aircraft during nighttime, increases the risk of developing hypertension, disturbed sleep, tinnitus or cognitive impairment. Even those people who don’t consider themselves of having health problems, will have a diminished quality of life says the environmental psychologist Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., who studied the topic for more than three decades.
Noise has a huge impact on our health. Helping our customers avoid the risk of noise is one of the key motivators behind NoiseNet. NoiseNet provides noise reporting and monitoring services for homebuyers, allowing them to minimise the risk of purchasing a noisy property.