Diane Russ of Evanston, Ill. never stays in the kitchen when the dishwasher is running. She wouldn't think of using power tools without wearing earplugs. And on weekends she keeps her windows closed. "Some mornings you can't walk outside because so many people are using their power mowers," she laments. "It's very noisy out there." Who would dispute it? From the roar of airplanes to the wail of sirens, the blast of stereos to the blare of movie sound tracks, noise is a constant part of American life. But few go to the lengths Russ does to avoid it. Noise is annoying and frustrating -- and accepted.
That tolerant attitude needs to change -- and fast. Increasingly, the racket that surrounds us is being recognized not only as an environmental nuisance but also as a severe health hazard. About 28 million Americans, or 11%, suffer serious hearing loss, and more than a third of the cases result from too much exposure to loud noise. Last week specialists testifying before a House committee documented an alarming new trend: more and more of the victims of noise-induced deafness are adolescents and even younger children. "We need to get people thinking the same way about protecting their ears as they now do about protecting their eyes," says Dr. James Snow Jr., director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. "There is so much noise we're exposed to that we tend to become complacent about it."
Much of the clamor is unavoidable because it fills work sites or public places. As many as 10 million Americans are exposed daily to on-the-job noise that could gradually cause some degree of permanent hearing loss. Sixty million Americans endure other noise, including the cacophony of city traffic, that is louder than the level the Federal Government deems safe, and 15 million live close to busy airports or beneath heavily traveled air routes. In some neighborhoods of northern New Jersey, more than 1,000 flights thunder overhead each day.
Much of the punishment, though, is voluntary. "Unfortunately," says Russ, an audiologist at Northwestern University's hearing clinic, "most of us unnecessarily increase the burden of noise we put ourselves under in our private lives." Homeowners endure the steady whine of everything from chain saws and power lawn mowers to vacuum cleaners and dishwashers. And the din of leisure activities can be just as dangerous as the roar from the factory floor. "We have laws to protect the hearing of workers in noisy workplaces," says senior scientist William Clark of the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis. "But there are no laws covering recreational noises." The most hazardous pastimes by far are hunting and target shooting -- enjoyed by nearly 13% of the population. A single crack of gunfire can hit 130 decibels or more, easily exceeding the danger level of 85 decibels.
Children lead some of the most raucous lives of all. Noisy activities range from playing with cap guns to practicing with school bands to riding the school bus. Of greatest concern, however, is youngsters' devotion to amplified music. Rock concerts can surpass 110 decibels, though they are more of a threat to musicians than to audience members, who endure the punishing pounding for only an hour or two.