Bengalee Adolescents’ Auditory and Allied Issues: A Study in Southern Bengal

Abstract

Transportation noise including road and railway traffic noise is recognized as the foremost source of environmental noise exposure. Long-term exposures of transportation noise impose physiological stress in terms of cardiovascular disease and noise annoyance regarded as a health related outcome of well-being itself, leads to anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, helplessness, anxiety, exhaustion also decrease the quality of life, including psycho-physical functioning, apart from hearing impairment. Concern to the context, here the work is conducted to evaluate the influence of noise exposure on the auditory health profile of total 255 male and 180 female adolescents (16–18 years). The information related to noise annoyance status and Quality of life was recorded. Also 243 male and 219 female adolescents of similar age, residing in a comparatively less noisy and quiet rural area, constituting the control group participated in present work. It has been observed that the study participants both male and female, residing in noisy environment are significantly suffering more from auditory impairment with higher level noise annoyance and significantly poorer quality of life compared to the control group individuals of similar age and sex, which may help to conclude that regular exposure to noise has negative auditory and allied impacts on the adolescents residing in noisy urban environment.