News & Stories
Noise Isn't Just Annoying - It's Bad for Your Health
Dr. Eoin King is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering with concentration in Acoustics at the University of Hartford. Having developed noise assessment techniques with focus on strategic noise mapping. Dr. King is a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute of Noise Control Engineering.
How Dr. King got into studying acoustics
Dr. King developed a love for music early on, playing in rock bands as a child. Also a regular (amateur) in the Dublin songwriter scene.
Why Dr. King focused on acoustics (niche field)
An undergrad as a mechanical engineer, his capstone project was focused on environmental noise. At the time EU Noise Mapping Directive was recently release, Dr. King realized that this was an emerging field of study. With the rise of the participatory web & social media, there is a massive potential for citzen scientists to contribute to the field of environmental noise- which is a exciting area to be involved in.
Some Health Risks that noise pollution can be attributed to.
Most people don't realize that noise exposure is clearly linked to adverse health effects. These effects range from; annoyance, to sleep distrubance, and even cardiovascular effects. Exposure to noise can also impair the cognitive development in children, who live in area with high noise levels, and has shown signs being related to stress/anxiety.
Some Compelling Conclusions
People don't realize the extent of the problem, or that there even is a problem. Noise is traditionally dismissed as an inevitable fact of life. Mounting evidence linking noise to adverse health affects, and increased proactive legislation is now driving change.
How to Best Address Rising Concern of Environmental Noise: 2 Strategies we need to follow
1) First, better educate public to understand dangers.
2) Develop a process whereby new building projects include consideration of acoustics. We need to shift the focus of noise control implementation of retroactive noise control measures, to procative sound design.
By: Ethan Bourdeau
Interview with Dr. Eoin King
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