That unacceptable noise is hazardous to health is well-documented.
According to the US Environment Protection Agency, noise pollution is “a growing danger to the health and welfare of the nation’s population”. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) ranks noise second only to air pollution as the environmental exposure most harmful to public health.
Notwithstanding these pronouncements, threats posed by noise remain “often underestimated” by government agencies, according to the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise.
Research has shown that noise pollution not only drives hearing loss, it is also linked to many non-auditory health conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health and cognition problems and low birth weight in babies.
The city of Mumbai takes noise on public transport seriously. In April, transport body Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport announced that bus passengers would be barred from having loud conversations on their phones and watching videos or playing audio without headphones. Those flouting the rule may be fined up or jailed under a law that prohibits “continuance of music, sound or noise … to prevent annoyance, disturbance, discomfort or injury to the public”.
Just last month, two members of parliament in Brussels tabled a motion for a resolution to punish users of excessively loud smartphones in public transport in the Belgian capital. One of them remarked: “Some people still do not seem to be aware that using a (smartphone) loudspeaker can be a real nuisance to the people around them. I am astounded by the number of people who adopt such behaviour.”