Making a noise about noise

 source: Dr. Luis Dias, oHeraldo, Dec. 31, 2022

I’ve been following the debate on the issue of noise regulation in Goa with a lot of interest.

What exactly is all the fuss about? How do we define noise in the first place?

It has been defined by experts as “acoustic signals which can negatively affect the physiological or psychological well-being of an individual.” (Handbook of Hearing and the Effects of Noise, K.D. Kryter, New York Academic Press).

In simple language, noise is unwanted sound.

It is interesting to note the origin of the word “noise”. It comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness.

The array of psychological and physiological responses to noise ranges from headaches, sleep loss, distraction, and stress to hearing loss, tinnitus, hallucination, and even suicide (“The Nausea of Noise” University of Oxford).

However one man’s noise may well be another’s ‘music’ and here lies the dilemma. What is unacceptable to one may be perfectly acceptable, or even desirable, to another.

I read a letter (‘New noise pollution regulation unreasonable’) sent in by email to this paper by Citizen Sandra Cameron, a UK national, earlier this month.

She starts by saying there should be “some” noise control, and that the regulation should be “within reason.” She recommends an extension of the noise deadline from 10 PM to 11 PM. And then she makes the argument about expensive flight tickets from the UK and how tightening of noise regulations would deter foreign tourists from visiting or returning to Goa.

What is not addressed is how “some” noise control will be enforced and what the consequences will be for those who violate those regulations or deadlines.

The subtext of the letter seems to be that pleasing the tourist must dictate how local laws are framed and enforced, even if it means that residents living nearby would get disturbed, because getting “loyal” tourists to return on their expensive flights overrides any other consideration. It is an absurd argument by any standard.

But this logic of “First please the tourist” seems to be the mantra of our government, bureaucracy, traffic police and other “public servants” on an endemic level. As long as those tourists keep coming in and coming back and the cash register keeps ringing (even if that cash doesn’t translate into a greater good), everything is hunky-dory. 

Are those who complain about noise just “party-poopers”? 

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) calls ‘noise’; “an underestimated threat that can cause a number of short- and long-term health problems, such as for example sleep disturbance, cardiovascular effects, poorer work and school performance.”

Just as there is today sufficient awareness of the perils of “second-hand smoke,” causing smoking to be banned or restricted in public areas, there is a similar growing awareness of the health (physical and psychological) dangers of second-hand noise.

Like secondhand smoke, noise is not just an annoyance; it causes serious health problems. The air into which noise is emitted is a “commons”, a public good or resource which nobody owns, but in which everyone has a stake.

Both the amount of noise and the length of time you are exposed to the noise determine its ability to damage your hearing. Beyond a critical mass point, the damage eventually becomes irreversible. Sustained exposure to noise above 85 decibels (dB) has been proven to cause permanent hearing loss. Many entertainment venues in Goa blast loud music in their premises and into the surrounding ’commons’ of the air and the environment where residents live, which far exceeds this decibel level.

Loss of hearing differs from loss of another sense such as vision, in the sense that visual loss at some point will become fairly obvious to an individual. But hearing loss sneaks up on you so gradually that by the time you are aware of it, the damage is already done.

If you think you have “gotten used to” the noise you are routinely exposed to, then most likely you have already suffered damage and have acquired a permanent hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is usually gradual and painless, but, unfortunately, permanent. Once destroyed, the hearing nerve and its sensory nerve cells do NOT regenerate. A sobering piece of news indeed. Noise affects both perpetrator and victim without discrimination.

What are the noise guidelines in Europe, from where tourists come at such great expense to have a holiday here?

In 2009, the EU set noise guidelines of 40 dB at night to “protect human health.” And it said steady, continuous noise in the daytime — such as the noise on highways — should not exceed 50 dB.

So the sanctimonious lectures we get from foreign tourists conveniently gloss over the fact that the rules in their own countries recommend decibel levels far below than those prevalent here in any case.

The permissible noise level in residential areas according to Indian law is 55 dB. Most of us however live in areas with noise levels upto 20-25% beyond this. 

A further look at guidelines defines “noise nuisance” as “interference that ordinary decent people would consider unreasonable with the personal comfort or enjoyment or amenity of neighbours or the community. This concept was further considered in a certain case ( Baxter v London Borough of Camden 2000) when it was equated to the principle of reciprocity - a person must show the same consideration to his neighbours as he would expect them to show for him.”

In other words, love thy neighbour as thyself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But what we’re being told by tourists like Ms. Cameron and other vested interests locally is that for the sake of the pleasure of a few visitors at a time, long-standing residents have to endure daily and nightly assault on their hearing and their peace of mind. All that matters is the mighty cash register, not public health, no siree. 

So tourists can party as hard as they wish and then go back to the peace and quiet they came from, but Goan residents unfortunate enough to have dwellings in the vicinity of a source of loud ‘entertainment’, have to basically shut up and put up with it. And considering that Goa has now become a year-round tourist destination, with no real ‘off-season’ as used to be the case previously in the monsoon months, there really is no respite. 

Here’s hopefully wishing all of you readers a peaceful Happy New Year 2023! 

(Dr Luis Dias is a physician, musician, writer and founder of Child’s Play)

 https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/Making-a-noise-about-noise/198839