Noise pollution from human activities can have negative impacts on our health—from sleep disturbances and stress to increases in the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
tolgart/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
tolgart/Getty Images
Noise pollution from human activities can have negative impacts on our health—from sleep disturbances and stress to increases in the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
tolgart/Getty Images
When’s the last time you were in a place that was quiet — really quiet? No roadway noise, construction work or even the hum of a refrigerator. Our world is full of sounds, some of which are harming our health. The World Health Organization says “noise is an underestimated threat.” Today, host Emily Kwong talks to health reporter Joanne Silberner about those health costs, what is too loud and some of the history of legislation to limit noise pollution in the United States.
Read Joanne’s full article in Undark Magazine here.
Curious about other health stories? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Today’s episode was produced by Berly McCoy and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez, who checked the facts along with Berly. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.
