Loud Noise Exposure

https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Noise/

• People who suffer from high-frequency hearing loss in both ears have typically been chronically exposed to loud noise, such as at work
• People who suffer from this type of hearing loss were twice as likely to have coronary heart disease compared to those with normal hearing
• Bilateral high-frequency hearing loss among those aged 50 and under was associated with a four-fold increased risk of heart disease

What is noise-induced hearing loss?

Every day, we experience sound in our environment, such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Normally, these sounds are at safe levels that don’t damage our hearing. But sounds can be harmful when they are too loud, even for a brief time, or when they are both loud and long-lasting. These sounds can damage sensitive structures in the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

NIHL can be immediate or it can take a long time to be noticeable. It can be temporary or permanent, and it can affect one ear or both ears. Even if you can’t tell that you are damaging your hearing, you could have trouble hearing in the future, such as not being able to understand other people when they talk, especially on the phone or in a noisy room. Regardless of how it might affect you, one thing is certain: noise-induced hearing loss is something you can prevent.

Who is affected by NIHL?

Exposure to harmful noise can happen at any age. People of all ages, including children, teens, young adults, and older people, can develop NIHL

Constant elevation of cortisol or adrenaline either through chronic noise pollution or stress wear out the adrenal glands. .adrenal glands get "stuck" in the ON position and constantly pump out cortisol to react to the chronic stressor, this can go on for months or years depending on how genetically strong your adrenal glands are and if they ever get turned "off" to rest.

Lack of sleep, exposure to constant noise, chronic emotional stressors and constant intake of stimulants will keep the cortisol "ON" at all times

However, once they get "pumped" out or overexerted that's when you start to slip into adrenal fatigue or exhaustion.

This is where your glands are weak and can no longer pump out the needed amount of cortisol for the stress or noise your being exposed to, when the adrenal glands stop producing and are not able to react to stress the correct way, this puts the "stress" on the thyroid, liver and other digestive organs.

It's like the adrenal glands are saying to these other organs/glands "I can't handle this stress anymore, you guys deal with it".

When the adrenals dump this on the other organs that's when your health starts to decline rapidly leading to thyroid dysfunction, liver disorders (like the one mentioned in the other article today), digestive disorders and yes HEART DISEASE!

This is why those energy drinks can cause heart attacks, it's the aggressive stimulation of the adrenals!

Essentially, it's the weakening of the adrenal glands that lead to the heart problems or disease that is fatal. .if the adrenals can't handle the stress like they are designed to do, the heart will be forced to deal with it .

This is stressful, and when you're exposed to loud noise stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline become elevated. Over time, this can lead to high blood pressure ,stroke ,and heart failure.

Many people become habituated to noise over time… The biological effects are imperceptible, so that even as you become accustomed to the noise, adverse physiological changes are nevertheless taking place, with potentially serious consequences to human health.

… Taken together, recent epidemiologic data show us that noise is a major stressor that can influence health through the endocrine, immune, and cardiovascular systems."

The impact can be significant. Among women who judge themselves to be sensitive to noise, chronic noise exposure increased the risk of cardiovascular mortality by 80 percent! Chronic noise exposure also leads to health risks beyond your heart and hearing, such as diminished productivity, sleep disruption, impaired learning, and more.

The "noise threshold" for heart problems was determined to be a chronic nighttime exposure of at least 50 A-weighted decibels, which is the amount of noise created by light traffic.

And according to research published in Environmental Health Perspectives, long-term exposure to traffic noise may account for approximately 3 percent of coronary heart disease deaths (or about 210,000 deaths) in Europe each year. 

This is an important point to consider, since those exposed to chronic traffic noise also tend to be chronically exposed to another heart health risk – air pollution. 

Exposure to fine particle air pollution increased "thoracic aortic calcification" (TAC) scores, a measure of arterial hardening, by nearly 20 percent while exposure to noise pollution increased TAC by about 8 percent.

REF :

·                      Sci Total Environ. 2007 Jan 1;372(2-3):406-12.

·         Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Nov; 115(11): A536–A537.

·         Study presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference May 17-22, 2013 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

·        Environ Health Perspect. 2007 November; 115(11): A536–A537.

While air pollution has received considerable attention as a recognized health threat, noise pollution is still flying by under the radar in many areas. As a result, you may be exposed to excessive levels of noise that you've learned to live with… at the expense of your health. Beyond the risks to your heart, exposure to chronic noise pollution may lead to:

1. Physio-psychological effects including headache, exhaustion, speech interference, aggravated depression, irritation, and annoyance and loss of concentration

2. Negative impacts on cognitive development in children and cognitive and psychological functions in adults, although more research is needed in this area

3. Among pregnant women, lower birth weight

4. Sleep disturbances, which is why nighttime noise pollution is thought to be worse than daytime exposures

5. A significant reduction in testosterone levels, which is associated with psycho-social dysfunction and chronic disease, in male rodents

REF :

·         Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2015 Jan;218(1):1-11.

·         Epidemiology. 2014 May;25(3):351-8.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/noise-pollution-air-go-hand-in-hand-medical-pro-interest-dayal-ram

Very Loud

80–90 dB = blow-dryer, kitchen blender, food processor

70 dB = busy traffic, vacuum cleaner, alarm clock

90 dB = motor bike

Your comments………….?

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The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional Medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information / education purposes only.