International Noise Awareness Day 30 April 2025

International Noise Awareness Day is celebrated annually on the last Wednesday in April with the aim of raising awareness of the harmful effects of noise on hearing, health and quality of life, and inspiring positive action in your community. This year’s theme is “Protect Your Hearing, Protect Your Health”

How loud is too loud?
But what is noise? Sound is measured in decibels; the higher the dB the louder and more damaging the noise. A quiet room is rated at 40db, but a gunshot or plane taking off at 140dB, causing immediate hearing damage.

I’m sure many of us would argue that we don’t spend a lot of time in noisy environments, but the opposite is true. Noise is constantly around us and by understanding what noise is and how to avoid it, we will be able to protect our hearing.

Let’s look at the various places where loud noise can be found –

 

Workplace
Firefighters, police officers, factory workers, farmers, construction workers, military personnel, heavy industry workers all work indoors in noisy environment. Even those who work in crowded office buildings with ringing phones and the constant hum of computers, air conditioners and fans are faced with the irritation and increased stress noise it causes. Noise in the workplace poses a safety risk by reducing concentration and increasing worker injuries.

 

 

Gymnasiums and sports facilities
A study by Raymond H. Hull, Ph.D. (1991) found that 80% of health clubs and spas consistently played music that exceeded 105 dBA over 1-hour periods and the intensity of the instructor’s voice using an FM transmitter averaged 5 dBA above that level. The noise of gym equipment and general conversation can be added to this.

 

 

 

Music concerts and theatres
The average noise level at music concerts is 120dB with a risk of hearing loss after just 7 minutes. Unfortunately, many musicians now struggle with hearing loss after a lifetime of concerts and regular exposure to extremely loud noise.

 

 

 

Shopping centres
Shopping centres are breeding grounds for hearing loss. Think of the last time you were in a large shopping mall; the noise of people walking on the tiled floor, the constant hum of talking and laughing, music from the overhead sound system, individual shops with their own music or radio, the sound of crockery and cutlery in an open restaurant and waiters calling out orders to the kitchen.

 

 

Motor vehicle
Many people drive with music in the car, sometimes at such a high volume that it can be clearly heard by pedestrians. I also recently realized the tremendous noise that comes in from outside when the window is open. Even in rush hour when the traffic is slowed down, the sound of car engines entering the car from both sides is loud.
This causes us to turn up the music volume, and even though sometimes we can only hear the music above the noise outside, both of these together have the potential to cause damage to one’s hearing.

 

What can be done?

• Move further away from speakers if possible
• Wear adequate hearing protection, such as foam earplugs or a variety of other types of earplugs if the music is too loud.
• If you use headphones, play the music at safe listening levels. If you can’t hear other people talking when you wear the headphones or if other people have to shout at you to be heard from a meter away while the headphones are on, it’s too loud. This only applies to in-ear headphones.
• Limit the amount of time you spend in noisy environments.

So, be aware of surrounding noise and do your best to protect your ears and your hearing!