Noise Pollution
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Danny Xu
5/9/20253 min read
Normally, when the word pollution is mentioned, it is common for people to think of trash on the street, or loads up plastic dumped into the ocean. While these physical forms of pollution are very harmful to the wellbeing of the Earth's environment, there are other forms of pollution that pose an equal threat to the Earth's wellbeing. One of these types of pollution is called "noise pollution". Noise pollution is any excessive noise that may cause health issues for living organisms. As the world becomes more modern, cars that produce noises from traffic, concerts, and other loud sources of noise can not only affects a persons blood pressure, hearing ability, sleep, and motivation loss. It has been observed that people constantly exposed to noise pollution are more likely to have health issues in the future.
What is Noise Pollution?
How does Noise Pollution Impact the Enviornment?
These are some of the effects noise pollution has on people. Image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthline.com%2Fhealth-news%2Floud-noises-bad-for-your-health&psig=AOvVaw0kakFegYM7JCBBsUpGAuPN&ust=1742254112144000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBYQjRxqFwoTCKj44sXgj4wDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
Excessive noise pollution not only effects humans but animals as well.
Marine Life
As technology has progressed, there is a lot more human activity in the ocean revolving around ships, construction, explosions etc. All of this creates a lot of noise which interrupts the natural noises in the ocean that animals rely on. Sound is used by animals like dolphins to communicate, locate prey and hide from predators which is hard to do with all the extra noise pollution. Some whales end up being stranded away from home and many whales have also been forced to alternate their feeding patterns to try and adapt. These loud noises also result in a lot of damage to the ears of these marine animals like the noise does to humans. From other forms of pollution like plastic pollution, marine biodiversity is already suffering in terms of population numbers so with the addition of noise pollution, it only makes things worse.
Birds
Compared to humans, birds are a lot more sensitive to noise than us, which makes noise pollution a major concern for them as well. Physically, birds can suffer from things like weight changes and feather loss from noise pollution. There immunity systems are also affected which leads to lower successful breeding rates and decreases the population of certain birds. Birds are also heard to sing a lot mainly in times during spring and summer because it is a way that they communicate with each other. However, that is harder to do when there are outside noises interfering with that communication.
Frogs
A common association that people have with frogs is the croaking sound they make. By croaking, frogs are able to attract mates and defend their territory, however, when noise gets in the way of this, it makes it harder for frogs to find mates and scare away predators. Loud noise also result in higher stress for frogs which impacts their health and breading success.
Sources: “Clean Air Act Title IV - Noise Pollution | US EPA.” 2018. US EPA. November 29, 2018. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-title-iv-noise-pollution.
National Geographic. 2022. “Noise Pollution.” Education.nationalgeographic.org. National Geographic. 2022. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/noise-pollution/.
Ellis, Lucy. 2022. “The Impacts of Noise Pollution in the Ocean.” EARTH.ORG. February 22, 2022. https://earth.org/noise-pollution-in-the-ocean/.
“The Impact of Noise Pollution on Birds - FLAAR MESOAMERICA.” 2024. FLAAR MESOAMERICA. April 26, 2024. https://flaar-mesoamerica.org/2024/04/26/the-impact-of-noise-pollution-on-birds/.