Noise Sensitivity Essay

I never realized how my I rely on my sight and tend to ignore or tune out my other senses. The article the science and art of listening, by Seth Horowitz really brought this to my attention. In the article he states, “listening tunes our brains to the patterns of our environment faster than any other sense, and paying attention to the nonvisual part of our world feeds into everything from our intellectual sharpness to our dance skills” (Horowitz, The Science and Art of Listening). I have been taking my hearing for granted. The beginning of the article asked us to stop and just listen to the world around us. I was expecting to hear nothing because I was in an empty house by myself. However, to my surprise I heard s lot! I hear the humming of the refrigerator and a ticking of a clock. These are all sounds that I had previously tuned out. This only made me think about all the other sounds that I tune out throughout the day. All the times that I walk to class with my headphones blasting music I have been missing out on opportunities to take in the sounds of nature. I have been missing information about my surrounding world. I think this is something that a lot of people take for granted and after reading this article I will be much more aware of the possibilities I have previously been missing out

Auditory Processing Disorders, also known as Central Processing Disorders, are difficulties in the processing of auditory information in the central nervous system. The definition for an Auditory Processing Disorder is frequently changing and evolving. According to ASHA standards in 2005, a “central processing disorder refers to difficulties in the perceptual processing of auditory information in the central nervous system and the neurobiological activity that underlies the processing and gives rise to the electrophysiological auditory potentials (ASHA 2005).” Recent evidence has declared auditory processing disorders to be a legitimate clinical disorder resulting from confirmation of the link between well-defined lesions of the central nervous system and deficits on behavioral and electrophysiological central auditory measures (Musiek, F. Journal of American Academy of Audiology). An individual is likely to perform normally in tests including clicks and tones, rather than speech. There is a significant difference between the receptors for audition and speech processing. It is imperative that these disorders are diagnosed and treated early in a child’s development to eliminate developmental negative consequences.

Noise can be very distracting especially if someone wants to study, sleep, read, do homework, and do a project or anything else. I personally have experienced noise as a distraction and I would never intentionally try to distract someone from doing what they want buy making it hard for them to focus because of my noise.

Sound – Some pupils may be sensitive to sounds, for example a child on the autistic spectrum who is disturbed by loud or unusual noises. It is not always possible for such noises to be avoided, but teaching assistants need to be aware of the effect that they can have on pupils (Burnham, 2007).

The human life span is from conception to death and can be divided into eight different developmental periods. This essay will focus on the early childhood period that ranges from two to five or six years of age. Firstly, this essay will describe the typical developmental milestones during early childhood and how they play an important role in each developmental stage that follows. Secondly, it will analyse how the home and educational environments influence early childhood. Finally, it will define Auditory Processing Disorder and the characteristics of a child with this condition. This essay will demonstrate the significant impact Auditory Processing Disorder can have significant effects on development and in the future.

it is the noise within the classroom that sets off and anger episode so providing ear defenders

Noise is one of the most widespread causes of hearing loss, and the most likely causes of occupational illnesses in the United States (Leigh 728). Acute or prolonged exposure to high-level, impulsive noise is an ongoing problem for the military and defense forces all over the world (Sliwinska-Kowalska and Adrian Davis 274). One shot from a big caliber firearm, perceived at a close range, may permanently or temporarily damage an individual hearing in an instant. Additionally, repeated exposures to noisy machinery may, over an extensive period of time, impose serious risks to human hearing. According to the report released by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD); ten million Americans have already suffered permanent hearing damage from noise and thirty to fifty million individuals are exposed to hazardous noise levels every day (Leigh 728). Many hearing illness in the police service originate from the noise caused by gunshots. As a result of increased cased of hearing problem, mainly in the police service, many scholars have engaged in research in order to get appropriate mean to control these problem. Considering the increasing investigation from military groups for vital information on how to protect from impulse noise, it is vital to explore health effects associated with impulse noise from gunshots. This study explores the effects on hearing caused by

* Difficulty hearing sounds which can be a safety concern (unable to hear sirens or alarms)

As a veteran, John was exposed to loud noises while on duty many years ago. Due to his prolonged exposure, John developed severe sensorineural hearing loss. Along with hearing loss, he also suffers from tinnitus. This interview was conducted in a quiet environment and directly facing John. John began the interview

We use our ears to pick up different tones and sounds in our environments. One question in the challenge involved a set of piano keys and each one varied in sound. The first and the last key actually made the same sound but most people brains do not pick up on it because the brain assumes that the tone is slowly getting higher. Another asked you to put a list of sounds in order from loudest to quietest sounds by decibels. The senses challenge also taught me that decibels are the measure of the intensity of a sound. I also learned that any amount of noise over ninety decibels can damage your ears if you are exposed to it long

It is clear that even in the early stages of life, the body entrains itself to the music of the surrounding environment, whether it be the sounds of voices, machines, instruments, or silence. While this research is still in its preliminary stages, it shows that the simple act of listening to music in the early stages of life could have a drastic impact on the patient’s future quality of life (Drahota, et al., 2012).

Tinnitus is the conscious perception of a phantom sound by an individual in the absence of an external acoustic source. Many people experience transient tinnitus following exposure to loud sound, and for most people, this unpleasant experience is usually temporary and subsides gradually over a few seconds, minutes or a few days. However, chronic or persistent tinnitus that occurs in a subset of the population is unremitting, leading to sleep disturbances, cognitive problems, work impairment, depression and even suicide (Jakes et al., 1985; Hallam et al., 2004; Heller, 2003; Dobie, 2003). A recent survey conducted among 69,976 people in New Zealand revealed that the prevalence of tinnitus was 6% for the total population and 13.5% for older adults aged 65 and over (Wu et al., 2015). The prevalence of chronic tinnitus increased with increasing age; therefore, the incidence of tinnitus is expected to rise in the future with the increasing ageing population. To date, there are no effective treatment options for tinnitus, mostly because the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of tinnitus is unclear.

In 1910, a Nobel Prize winning German bacteriologist stated, “A day will come when man will have to fight merciless noise as the worst enemy of health”. According to Dr. Koch, “noise, like smog, is a slow agent of death” (Robert Koch, 1910 cited in Vijayalakshmi, 2003). Unfortunately, the forecast provided by Dr. Koch one hundred years ago has come true at the present time.

In an effort to understand something so new researchers are conducting ongoing studies to understand how sound can affect people in such a negative manner. While there is not enough evidence to consider it a separate condition, like OCD, strides are being taken to make this disease brought to light. This disease is called Misophonia, a condition in which a person has an acute emotional response of anger or disgust to a commonly occurring auditory or visual stimulus referred to as a trigger (Dozier, 2015). For the purposes of this evaluation, I will be concentrating on the auditory aspect of the disease.

Sound is an important input affecting the nervous system. The brain reacts to sound input because information signals are able to travel from the outside environment, across action potentials and through the neural