Most people associate noise problems with living next to motorways or airports. It is a form of pollution, but often not taken as seriously as atmospheric pollution because it disappears immediately when its source is removed.
However, noise is a major workplace issue that can lead to hearing loss or injury, poor concentration, stress and heart conditions. In the United States the latest Bureau of Labour Statistics data shows that hearing loss affected 1.9 in every 10,000 workers in 2014. However, in manufacturing 11.2 workers in every 10,000 were affected and in the ‘clean energy’ sector — hydro-electric power generation 56.2 workers per 10,000 were affected. The trend is in the right direction with hearing loss in manufacturing down from 16.7 per 10,000 in 2004 — but it remains a major threat for many types of job.
The upper noise limit in workplaces is currently 90db in America and 85db in the UK, but it takes very little exposure to damage hearing. For instance, a typical vacuum cleaner emits 75db and a large truck at 15 metres distance emits 85db. Noise is also a serious source of distraction. In 2014 an international survey by Ipsos found that 85% of people said they could not concentrate at work, whilst a survey earlier that year by Canada Life found that only 6.5% of those surveyed believed an open-plan environment was productive. Moreover, those working in open-plan offices took 70% more sickness absence days than those who worked from home.
Thus, for most employers the threat of noise in the workplace is primarily a concern about its impact on employee performance and their general health. Here the source could be as seemingly harmless as the voices of colleagues, an air conditioning system, office machines or even ‘white noise’ generators commonly used to mask other noises. In fact, according to an article in Scientific American, on-going white noise can induce the release of excessive levels of cortisol which can impair ‘executive’ functions used for planning, reasoning and impulse control. But probably the most significant risk of noise to health is to the heart. Many studies have found that excessive noise correlates with raised blood pressure levels and the incidence of heart disease. In fact, one researcher’s estimate places the cost saving due to improved cardiovascular health alone at 3.9 billion US dollars per year for every 5db reduction in noise exposure.