We live in an increasingly noisy environment. Noise from cars, road surfaces, underground trains, air travel and neighbourhood construction constantly bombard us from all directions. Leisure pursuits like discotheques, cinemas, arcade games, and personal audio sets constantly expose us to high levels of noise. Excessive noise exposure has a significant impact on the quality of life, and must be recognised as a major threat to human well-being(1). Rapid population growth and urbanisation has resulted in increased levels of noise polluting our environment. Community noise levels are directly related to population density. An apartment in an urban precinct can be up to a thousand times (30 dBA) more noisy than in the suburban and rural areas. Furthermore some toys have been found to emit noise with an intensity that may damage hearing in children. Rapid industrialisation and economic growth of the highly populated East Asian nations have turned these countries into noise polluted communities.
