Noise is the new secondhand smoke
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Photo credit: Markus Spiske
Noise is the new secondhand smoke. That’s what Bill Schiffmiller said in a recent article in Forbes Magazine. That’s also what The Washington Post said some years ago. I used that title in an article in Acoustics Today, too. I know a good line when I steal one and always give credit, but in this case I can’t remember where or when I first saw the phrase used.
Why is noise like the new secondhand smoke? Because just as unwanted secondhand smoke is a both a nuisance and a health hazard, so is noise. Schiffmiller goes on to discuss the many ways noise is a problem in our daily lives, in the workplace and for restaurant patrons and customers in retail stores. He has worn hearing aids for most of his life, and notes that background noise levels have increased in volume and impact in restaurants, airports, stores, on the street and even in his home.
Anyone over 40 should be able to remember when smoking was allowed everywhere. Some restaurants and certainly airplanes had no-smoking sections, but unfortunately the smokers’ secondhand smoke couldn’t read the signs. Those complaining about secondhand smoke were viewed as fussy neurotics more interested in themselves than in allowing others to enjoy a harmless habit.
In 1993, after the Environmental Protection Agency declared environmental tobacco smoke to be a Class A carcinogen with no known safe lower level of exposure, those advocating for a smoke-free environment suddenly became health advocates. Indoor smoking bans were introduced and the United States became essentially smoke-free.
Similarly, unwanted noise is more than a nuisance. Noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. There can be no rational doubt that wanted noise can cause hearing loss, and unwanted noise has non-auditory health effects including hypertension, obesity and increased mortality.
I hope Schiffmiller’s article will help businesses understand the importance of a quieter environment for their employees and for their customers. A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all.