"That subtle hum of the FDR Drive under an East Side window may not even draw your attention, but it is certainly damaging it minute by minute. As I uncovered that 50 years ago with research on the effects of elevated train noise on children's learning in an elementary school in Upper Manhattan, the constant, grinding, numbing noise of car and truck traffic is literally sickening us."
"Of course, science has long known that loud sounds - pleasurable ones like a Pete Townshend solo or intrusive ones like a bomb - can bring about hearing loss. But even sounds that are not that loud can have dire consequences for the listener, especially if the intrusive sounds occur over a period of time, as more and more studies show. As noise persists over time, the body reacts physiologically, and the risk of damage to the circulatory, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems rises."
Chronic noise from cars and trucks, including subtle hums from highways, gradually damages hearing and impairs learning. Long-term exposure to intrusive but not necessarily loud sounds provokes physiological stress responses that raise risks to circulatory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems. Noise complaints in New York City rose significantly, prompting updated municipal noise codes that recognized noise as a health hazard. Persistent traffic noise also erodes civic life when drivers disregard others. Historical research on elevated train noise demonstrated adverse effects on children's learning, indicating that urban traffic noise produces both immediate and cumulative harms to public health and community well-being.
Read at Streetsblog
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