Noise level

The noise is a chaotic mixture of different sounds. The physical characteristics of its loudness are decibels. They indicate the degree of sound pressure.

The noise level for a person within natural limits ranges from twenty to thirty decibels. This loudness of sounds is not capable of causing any harm and is considered comfortable. For example, this noise is made by rustling leaves on the trees. However, each person gives individual preferences to a certain level of ambient sounds. There are people whose work capacity drops sharply if everything is too quiet. To eliminate discomfort, they can include background music. Silence for others should be broken only by ticking the clock.

The noise level, which is measured at a distance of two meters from the housing, according to sanitary recommendations, should not be above fifty-five decibels. It sounds from the usual conversation between people or a teapot boiling on the stove (if you are away from it in half a meter).

In the conditions of large cities, observance of these norms is not possible. This is facilitated by lively motorways and new construction. The noise level in decibels from a car passing near you is about seventy. Motorcycle, bus and truck cause us even greater discomfort. Their noise levels reach a limit of ninety decibels. Thus, passing along the highway, a person catches sounds that significantly exceed the sanitary norm.

The noise level of railway stations and airports in our lives is the maximum. Trains and airplanes are capable of producing sounds whose loudness reaches a limit of one hundred decibels.

Increased noise background values are dangerous for human health. If constantly on our hearing organs are affected by sounds exceeding eighty decibels, then this situation is considered harmful to the body. Workers who work in such production conditions should periodically give directions for a medical examination.

The noise level, reaching the border of one hundred and thirty decibels, can cause physical pain. A mark of one hundred and fifty causes loss of consciousness. One hundred and eighty decibels destroy metal and lead to death. Fortunately, in everyday life such a level of pressure is extremely rare.

In order to understand how much the environment is harmful to your health, you need to decide how to measure the noise level. To do this, there is a special device, available in different versions. It is called a sound level meter. In order to measure the volume readings in living quarters, there are household, and in industrial - industrial devices. A wide range of noise meters is also available, which can catch the level of infra- and ultrasound.

The tones within the limits of low and high frequencies are perceived by us as more quiet. The sound level meter is equipped with a special electronic filter, which modulates various indicators and normalizes measurements.

Constant loud sounds reduce our hearing. Strong noise can cause acoustic shock. This pathology can be acute or chronic. The first kind of trauma can be obtained from sharp sounds that sounded in the immediate vicinity of the hearing organs (the whistle of a passing train, the rumbling of any installation). The consequence of this kind of impact can be:

- pain in the auricle;

- internal hemorrhage;

- swelling and displacement of cells located in the inner ear.

For a certain period, it seems to the person that the deaf has come. Sometimes loud sounds can cause a rupture of the tympanic membrane.

With constant long-term stay in a noisy environment, an acoustic injury of a chronic type occurs. Its consequence is dullness of hearing.