On TVP Info’s ‘O tym się mówi’, Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński discusses noise and its impact on everyday life.
Hearing enables us to communicate effectively and participate normally in social life. Noise can seriously harm it: not only traffic noise, but sound from televisions, speakers and headphones, and occupational noise at work. Exposure lasting much longer than permitted can damage hearing. This makes employers’ compliance with established standards particularly important. Where noise is excessive, hearing protectors are necessary.
Noise exposure also affects children, who may become more irritable and tired. For example, when numerous stimuli disturb their sleep, they do not recover properly.
‘Many children have this problem. Hearing screening conducted in several regions — most recently among first-year pupils in the Mazowieckie and Lubelskie regions, while it was still possible — showed that it may affect more than ten per cent of children. These are chronic ear infections: a child begins asking for instructions to be repeated and sometimes hears less well in one ear. A typical sign is speaking more loudly and asking for cartoons on the television or tablet to be turned up. This may indicate chronic otitis, which often requires surgery. The effect can then be striking: we see the child begin functioning normally almost overnight,’ says Professor Piotr H. Skarżyński.
Hearing prevention is very important. Protection against noise prevents permanent hearing damage and helps maintain healthy hearing for longer. Stay away from noisy places or limit the time spent there, and wear earmuffs or earplugs in noisy surroundings or when using loud power tools. Reducing the volume and becoming accustomed to quieter sounds are also important.
‘Look around for unnecessary sound sources that make noise intense and constant. Check whether electronic devices need to be switched on all the time or keep emitting noise. Sometimes an ordinary computer fan causes the problem,’ emphasises Professor Piotr H. Skarżyński.
