Founded in 1995 by The Centre for Hearing and Communication in the USA, the day aims to encourage people to do something about disruptive or excessive noise where they work, live and play. The impact of noise has recently gained much more attention, both in the press and thanks to social media.
Councils are reporting higher levels of noise complaints, whether they are regarding noisy neighbours, construction sites working out of sociable hours or loud roads or railways.
People are reporting a lack of sleep, disrupted sleep, stress and high blood pressure levels thanks to ongoing excessive noise and local newspapers are becoming inundated with stories from upset local residents who want to tell their story.
For workers too, those who are being exposed to loud noise for the duration of their working day are at high risk of hearing damage or loss. According to figures from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, occupational deafness caused by exposure to high noise levels at work is one of the most prevalent forms of ill-health in the United Kingdom. The body estimates that over two million people in the UK are regularly exposed to loud noise at work and about 1.1 million are exposed to levels above 85 dB, where there is a significant risk to health.
At Echo Barrier, we try to educate our customers about noise. Adding noise reduction solutions to site management plans is quickly becoming the norm, but for a business, using noise barriers even when not asked to can come with commercial benefits too.
For many, the decision to buy from a company will be based on their reputation and their image – if you are seen to care about your local community and want to reduce the impact on local people, you are already halfway there to a great reputation. If you are experiencing noise, whether at work, at home, maybe on your commute or when you are trying to enjoy a well earned day off, do something about it. The more noise we make on the subject of being quiet, the more likely we are to be able to force the issue and force change. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and You Tube give us the idea platform through which to expose those making excessive and inconvenient noise.
On this INAD we’re asking you to take a stand and do something – let’s make some noise about unwanted noise! To find out about the portfolio of products we have in the Echo Barrier range visit https://www.echobarrier.co.uk/noise-reduction-barriers/