Noise pollution – dementia’s causative agent

The entire world is more concerned about the materialistic forms of pollution, leaving the deadliest of them, the noise pollution out of focus. While the highly talked about air and water pollution bring in adverse chemical effects, noise pollution directly disturbs the nervous system in our body.

Dementia is a generic term referring to all diseases associated with memory loss. The well-known Alzheimer’s is one of the many types of dementia. A study that recently concluded, was conducted over 6.6 million people over a decade and revealed breath taking facts about the consequences of noise. It says ‘People living near high traffic zones are more prone to fall victims for neural disorders’.

Professor John Hardy who is a neuroscientist at the University College, London conducted a research over a span of 12 years. In the study, he chose people living across the area ranging from less proximity to main roads to high proximity. The analysis proved that people living closer to main roads possessed a 7% risk of acquiring dementia, while the number diminished as people lived far away from the roads. In the worst case scenario, there was 12% chance for those who never shifted from the main roads during the entire period of study.

Technological developments should grow beyond developing pollution-free vehicles. There should be vehicles that would curb unbearable and disturbing noise. Noise pollution should also be regarded as a threat to the health of the society and must not be ignored. Indeed, it is analogous to the nuclear weapons that cause step-by-step destruction. It is recommended that people also prefer living little away from such roads to safeguard the health of themselves and their families.