Noise Pollution, Distractions, and age on Pain Threshold and Tolerance.

How does this affect adults?J.M Psychology Human Growth And

Development

How Does noise pollution affect the publics health?

• 10 million Americans already suffer some permanent noise-induced hearing loss.

• “The National Institute Of Occupational Safety And Health reports that approx 30 million are exposed to daily noise levels that will eventually reduce their ability to hear.”

• Atleast 20% of U.S. workers do their work in environments that could be dangerous to their hearing in the future, according to NIOSH. The U.S. government estimates that more than 90% of coal miners suffer hearing impairment by the age of 50.

• According to the New York Center for Agriculture Medicine and Health, a staggering 75% of farmers have issues related to their hearing because of the noisy equipment that they use on their farms.

• “Hearing loss is one of the most common workplace conditions” says audiologist Ted Madison, president of the National Conservation Association.

What are the other affects of Noise Pollution and Distractions in development amongst adults?

• Depression• Hypertension• Insomnia, due to distraction of noise while

trying to sleep.• Heart Damage• Increase levels of Stress amongst adults• anxiety

Continued…

• Anger• Confusion• Tension• Arthritis• Fatigue• Hearing loss

Is there a way to reduce the noise for adults?

• Participants 35 years of age and older who listened to classical music reported significantly less pain than those that listened to heavy metal. If an adult were to change their taste in lifestyle, stop going to loud concerts and listen to aggressive loud music, it could help.

• “Representative Lowey’s bill, now pending in Congress, would provide $20 million a year for noise reduction and reopen the shuttered noise-abatement office. Some appliances are now designed for reduced noise, and a uniform-labeling program could enable consumers to compare decibel levels the same way they compare energy efficiency in a toaster or dishwasher”

• An adult could choose a job that is quiet, and choose to limit their noise intake in their personal lives and free time to help their hearing and other health and psychiatric complications.

Credits, peer research studies, sources.

• Time Magazine. 4/5/2004, vol. 163 Issue 14, p54-56 3p. 2 Color Photographs.

• Authors Kluger, Jeffrey• NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety• Interaction Effects of Visual Distractions,

Auditory Distractions and Age on Pain Threshold and Tolerance Timothy Wright and Bryan Raudenbush Wheeling Jesuit University