The smallest level of intensity of sound that could be heard by our ears has been scaled to measure as zero decibels. The average intensity of a whisper (through human mouth) is measured on this scale as 10 to 20 decibels… and so on…. The sounds of intensities (hence, loudness) more than 75 decibels are found to be harmful to the psychological and physical health. According to a report of the international symposium on environment organized in Stockholm by the UNO – ‘if a
human being has to live constantly in a noisy atmosphere where the intensity of sound is more than 140 decibels then he would soon loose the normal mental balance…; further higher levels of intensities of this sound would result in his untimely death’.
It is found that, on an average, the intensity (in decibels) of sound produced by normal conversation is around 60, that of quarrelling voice is about 80. The average intensity of the noisy sound of a motorbike measures around 100, that of a siren of a factory about 150, aircraft about 160 decibels…., etc. The collective impact of these disturbing sounds is found to explosively
damaging and more dangerous for our ecosystem than the pollution of air and water.
Scientific Studies on Noise Pollution:
Scientific investigations reveal that the stimulation created by the sound waves of intensities higher than 25-30 decibels at a continuous stretch can perturb the normal bio-electrical signal processing of the nervous system and hence should be regarded as risky… Maintenance of silent ambience in hospitals, especially around the heart-patients and in the intensive care units is therefore mandatory.
Contemporary experimental research on guinea pigs as well as on the human subjects carried out in the acoustics, medicine and neuro-psychological research laboratories across the world – in the 20th century, has shown significant mal-effects of loudness of sound on clinical, physiological and psychological behaviour of the subjects. The leading projects include – the experiments conducted at San Francisco medical college, California; Dr. William F. Guar’s research lab in Georgia; Keliayer Hearing and Speech Center, Texas; Dr. Lester W. Santen’s physiological research laboratory in Ohio; and the field research carried out by Prof. V. Williams of the Harvard University…., etc, in the USA and those of Dr. Griffith in Australia, and the national studies of heavy industries’ physical and working environments… carried out in England, France and Russia.
Similar to the Doppler effect, the negative effect of loudness results in the destruction of matter in its vicinity. During the construction of a plane field near Leningrad, some time in 1963, it was observed that the loud noise of the bulldozers had caused a sudden fall of the feathers of the hens in a nearby poultry farm. The loud ‘voice’ of super magnet fighter aircrafts had produced cracks in the historic caves of Kenyan. Many other historical monument around the world are facing similar dangers due to the noise pollution created by the traffics or the heavy industrial operations in the areas around.
The intensity of sound has a key role to play at the cellular and molecular level as well. Dr. Dailhastize’s research carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has shown that the coagulation of the RBCs increases with the loudness of sound in the surrounding environment. This results in narrowing down of the arteries and increasing their rigidity. Similar results were
obtained at the School of Engineering and Applied. Sciences, UCLA during a study of the effects of noise, the negative effects of the loudness of sound in the big cities were found to have caused liver diseases in the adults and affected the would-be-born children of the pregnant women – such infants were born with physiological and anatomical abnormalities of one kind or the other.
While the appropriate ordering and controlling of the frequency and intensity in music creates soothing effects of strengthening the healthy functioning of the body and the mind, any disordering in it could prove to be equally harmful. For instance the electronic strain gauge tests conducted by an acoustic, Dr. John Diamond, have indicated that some combinations and tuning of the ‘Da… Da….Da….’ in a noisy pop music can ruin about two-third of the muscle-strength of
its listeners. The sound (though subtle in nature) produced by evil thoughts and sentiments like jealous, ego, anxiety, anger – generated by excessive ambitions, possessive desires or attachments – fall into the second category. Those desirous of living a happy, healthy and long life should attempt creating a noise- free atmosphere in their external and the internal world. Silence in the surroundings and a peaceful state of mind are evidently crucial for the success of any kind of yoga or spiritual practice.
Source: Eternity of Sound and the Science of Mantras
