Ocean waves are tumbling and crashing on the shore. Up the hill from the beach, a car alarm begins to sound. The little dog in the house with the brown fence is suddenly scared, he lifts his nose and begins to howl. Crash, beep - beep, woof. That's a lot of noise - but did you know it might kill you? Yes, you read it right, exposure to noise has been proven to increase your chance of dying sooner, and the following conditions are just the start.
1. Tiredness
Interrupted sleep due to noise doesn't just make you tired. It also impairs your memory, makes it more difficult for you to be creative and will even impact your decision making. Maybe you're not making bad choices, maybe you're just tired.
2. A headache
If you thought your neighbor's kid playing the drums would give you a headache - you were correct. Chronic headaches and migraine are more prevalent in people who live under flight paths and beside busy roads.
3. Anxiety
There are many things in life that might trigger mental illness and constant noise is definitely one of them. Sounds over 55 decibels are considered as highly disruptive. This isn't even very loud - about the sound of traffic going along a street. You can see why hearing something like this all the time, or louder is a high-risk factor for developing a mental health problem.
4. Stress
When we hear a noise, it's meant to keep the body alert and trigger our "fight or flight" response. The body can then release the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline, helping us get out of a tricky situation. This is great when there's a fire and we are notified by a loud alarm, but what about when we hear blasting sounds at other times? When noise is constantly in our ears, it means the stress response is always turned on. Noise pollution is stressing us out to no end.
5. Heart disease
Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany have analysed many studies into how noise impacts heart health. The findings prove that noise is impacting our bodies on a cellular level. The 'stress hormone' cortisol is not meant to be released all the time. When it is, not only does it cause unnatural stress, but leads to vascular damage.
It turns out air pollution isn't the only factor that you should have concerns about when moving. It's the noises being emitted from the cars, planes, and trains near your home. For more information about how to better protect yourself from these risks, and what you can do about it visit our 'Services' page.