Auditory and Non-Auditory Effects of Noise on Health; Lancet, April 12, 2014

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ABSTRACT: Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health effects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced hair-cell and nerve damage has substantially increased, and preventive and therapeutic drugs will probably become available within 10 years. Evidence of the non-auditory effects of environmental noise exposure on public health is growing. Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, affects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren. In this Review, we stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health.

CONCLUSIONS: Hearing loss caused by occupational or recreational noise exposure is highly prevalent and constitutes a public health threat needing preventive and therapeutic strategies. In this Review, we emphasise that non-auditory health effects of environmental noise are manifold, serious and, because of the widespread exposure, very prevalent. These factors stress the need to regulate and reduce environmental noise exposure (ideally at the source) and to enforce exposure limits to mitigate negative health consequences of chronic exposure to environmental noise. Educational campaigns for children and adults can promote both noise-avoiding and noise-reducing behaviours, and thus, mitigate negative health consequences. Efforts to reduce noise exposure will eventually be rewarded by lower amounts of annoyance, improved learning environments for children, improved sleep, lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease, and, in the case of noise exposure in hospitals, improved patient outcomes and shorter hospital stays.

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Cardiovascular Effects of Environmental Noise Exposure; European Heart Journal, April 2014