The Chaos of Noise on Our Streets
5 Tips for protecting and saving your hearing. Anywhere.
Repeatedly, what should have been for the good of all quickly becomes a “Do me as I do you” cycle of mutual self-destruction.
Now and then, we observe the government's poor governance and heavy-handed tactics in the media. One might question if these rulers have their hearts in their chests or a different anatomical location.
As the rulers, so are the ruled.
The question of whether insensitive leaders or unruly and crass people come first always leaves you perplexed.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the way certain Nigerians disturb their neighbors' peace and serenity.
Over many weeks past, the media have repeatedly reported on the Lagos State Government's sealing up of religious and other business houses. This move became necessary because of noise pollution.
According to reports, these religious houses were constantly causing distress to their neighbors with unbearable noise on their worship days.
I’m not a resident of Lagos. Where I live, there are two churches on parallel streets near mine, about 200 meters apart from each other. On their special service or prayer nights, the surrounding people experience restless, sleepless nights and nightmares, as they are turned into captive audiences.
Warning my group of the havoc being done on the neighborhood, I told them that I am a Christian and a Church person as well. However, I do not believe in using loud noise to terrorize people in the name of worshiping God.
Furthermore, I informed them of the potential harm to their long-term hearing. A few of them paid attention. Others were recalcitrant.
Warning them about the many hazards of long exposure to noise was like pouring water into a basket. My mission to save my people from their own selves has not yet borne any results.
Unfortunately, many of our people love to have it so.
According to these willfully ignorant groups, thunderous night-prayers and songs from their churches silence and expel all the evil spirits and witches troubling their community.
Noise Pollution Everywhere
Among other ills, heavy noise pollution is among the most undesirable behaviors exhibited by some individuals.
In some Nigeria cities, entire streets and major roads will be closed up to normal traffic without warning. This, the people do in other to give befitting burials to the dead.
Your neighbors will drown up the neighborhood in Bacchus-worthy night or day parties, not caring how the neighbors feel.
Here, some businesses will unceremoniously close their markets to customers without warning. The sellers have all vamoosed to attend one of their late members’ burial ceremonies.
Some drivers will drive against the traffic at full speed, endangering other road users. And when you stand your ground or challenge them, their impetuous reply will be as follows. “Shut up! Are you the owner of the road?” “Stay on the road, since you wan’ die!”
Once, I brought to the attention of the churchgoers the disturbance caused by the noise of their churches to their neighbors. Some of them brazenly urged me to keep quiet. Others dared me to invite the government to enforce their anti-noise pollution laws.
Once upon a time, my usual driving route was suddenly converted to a "ONE-WAY" without any warning. Unknown to me, there was a police check-point mounted at its end to arrest unwary drivers. After escaping from the police, I asked the pedestrians along the route why they hadn't warned me about the road closure. Their response was, "Well, the police instructed us not to inform the drivers so that they (the police) can collect money (bribes) from drivers who unintentionally break the rules."
The litany of unmerited pains that some Nigerians inflict on their neighbors is extensive and seemingly endless. They do it because they can do so without facing any consequences.
Back to the case in discussion.
A layman’s understanding of noise pollution
Sound is measured in decibel (dB).
Unlike linear scales, the decibel scale is logarithmic. Every 10 dB increase represents a 10-fold increase in sound intensity. Meaning, a sound intensity of 20 dB is 10 times louder than a sound at 10 dB, and 30 dB is 100 times more intense than 10 dB.
What makes noise very dangerous is that even though your sense of hearing perceives these sounds in linear steps of 10, 20, 30 …, sequence, the harm done to your hearing increases in multiples of 10 that is 10, 100, 1000 …
Therefore, as much as possible, always protect your hearing from heavy noise.
Noise pollution and the hazards we choose to live with.
Noise pollution is insidious and destructive.
Starting from relatively low levels, it insidiously creeps in on the victim. Next, the victim will ask you to repeat words. Sadly, he can no longer hear the chiming of bells, the melody of a beautiful orchestra, or the ringing sweet voices of the children playing.
As much as possible, always minimize your exposure to high-noise sources. Prolonged exposure to noise levels higher than 85 dB can cause irreversible damage and permanent loss of hearing.
Here are some precautions you can take to prevent irreversible loss of hearing.
Reduce the noise from your headphones and home entertainment systems. The good news is that when you reduce the external audio volume to as low as possible, your internal amplifier (your brain) tunes up the music for you to enjoy. The corollary is also true, heavy noise destroys the cells and nerves connected to your hearing.
Use your headphones for limited durations and not for several hours at a stretch.
Install a Sound Level meter (app) on your phone. Use it to measure the intensity of the noise in your environment. Reduce such noise or change your environment if necessary.
As much as lies on you, stay away from noisy work environments. If you must, ensure you use hearing protection safety devices.
Prolonged exposure to sounds above 85 dB can cause hearing damage. It’s important to monitor and manage exposure to loud noises to protect hearing health.
Parting Words
In a country like ours, who is listening, or ready to hear and take warning?
Well, now you’ve heard me, helping to save ourselves from ourselves. Join me.
At home, at work, or at your religious worship places, now that you know better, choose and act better.
Thanks for hearing me out. This story was originally published on Medium.
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Lagos seals churches, guest houses over ‘noise pollution’ | TheCable