Challenges in education; The growing menace of noise

At this time there is a growing national concern about the increasing amount of noise that is overtaking the country. For many years we've been concerned about noise and industry. But we're even more concerned now about noise levels that subject greater numbers of people to what may be hazardous noise. It may be harmful to them physically as well as psychologically. The speaker is Mr. Burton King in a moment he talks about the growing menace of noise. The challenges in education presented by Duke University here with today's feature news Charles past. Large groups of people all across the United States are becoming concerned with the problem of noise. Recently there was a national conference on noise as a public health hazard and representatives from numerous organizations expressed intense

concern for noise levels in our communities. Mr. Burton King an audiologist at Duke was one of the participants. The industrial population we have known for many years to be exposed to high intensity you know it's estimated that probably from 10 to 16 million and workers are exposed to hazardous noise on a day to day basis. However we're finding now that with mechanisation of aircraft engines truck no eyes and general background noise in a community in neighborhoods where there are private homes that general noise level has increased tremendously. And the last oh even five or six years. One of the major contributors to the noise problem is the jet aircraft. For many years people were willing to put up. With prop driven. Aircraft practically all flights now in

major cities. Pertain to jet powered aircraft we're finding that these Noise levels are extremely high and as people turn to air travel there are more and more flights per day. So we're finding that people living near airports are not only objecting to the intensity the noise levels produced by jet aircraft but they're also quite concerned about the frequency of this. People will tolerate some types of noise but not others. Mr. King makes an interesting point. An interesting thing has come about in studying people's reaction to noise. And it is that many of us while tolerating high noise levels in our own homes. Will complain very readily about the noise

coming from our next door neighbor's home. For instance if you're trying to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon and your neighbor gets out and runs his power more for an hour. For you this is the wrong time. However you may have a great deal of noise going on in your own home but it does not bother you. You realize the necessity of this noise for your well-being so you're willing to put up with it. The other person's noise is far more irritating to you than the noise that you and your family are creating in your own home. So it's not only the level of noise and the frequency of noise but what is causing it and how does this affect you. With fewer places to go to get away from the noise we generate. Perhaps now is the time for the national concern about the noise problem excessive

noise can cause both physical and psychological impairment and effective noise control may be necessary in the near future. This is Charles drivable with challenges in education from Duke University. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.