Noise and Health
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In a ten-
Researchers involved in the study recorded higher levels of the stress hormones adrenaline,
noradrenaline, and cortisol in persons exposed to noise. In addition, long-
Not surprisingly, after 13.5 years, 81 workers in the boiler factory developed hypertension
to various degrees of severity, compared to only 16 in the control group. Apart
from establishing a clear link between noise and cardiovascular diseases, the study
also underlined the need for long-
In other studies, researchers compared the levels of stress hormones and blood pressure
of children living near the airports of Los Angeles and Munich with children living
in quieter areas. As with the Maschke study, the researchers recorded higher levels
of stress hormones and blood pressure in noise-
The vegetative brain centres can be activated directly by noise signals from the ear without undergoing any or only limited processing. In particular short and impulsive noises appear to have the most direct impact. In most other cases, the brain takes the time to evaluated the content of the noise. The information is compared to previous experiences with similar noise events and the result is stored and evaluated. Emotional and physical reactions are the outcome.
The autonomic nervous system controls bodily functions involuntarily. In other words, you can't do much about it. One part of this system is the sympathetic nervous system which reacts to, let's say a loud and impulsive noise, by initiating the release of the stress hormones adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).