How does unwanted sound effect the physiological and psychological
Outline:
I) Research Question:
a) How does “unwanted” sound effect the physiological and psychological performance differently than “wanted” sound?
II) Thesis Statement:
a) “Wanted” and “unwanted” sound have the same physiological effects on the human body but effect its psychological performance differently.
III) Introduction:
IV) Literature Review:
a) The Human Ear
b) How sound is “heard”/perceived by the body
V) Development:
a) Physiological effects of sound (both wanted and unwanted)
b) Psychological effects of sound (both wanted and unwanted)
VI) Conclusion:
VII) Limitations and/ or improvements
a) The need for experimentation
VIII) Further questions to be raised:
a) Can sound cause abnormal release of hormones
b) How can noise pollution be prevented
i) Restriction laws
ii) Sound absorbers
iii) Precautions( like earplugs….etc)
IX) Bibliography
Research Question:
How does “unwanted” sound effect the physiological and psychological performance differently than “wanted” sound?
Thesis statement:
“Wanted” and “unwanted” sounds have the same physiological effects on the human body but effect its psychological performance differently.
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Introduction:
Sound is a particular auditory impression perceived by the sense of hearing. The presence of unwanted sound is called noise pollution. This unwanted sound can seriously damage and effect physiological and psychological health. For instance, noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, and other harmful effects depending on the level of sound, or how loud it is. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to heart problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks. Everything from the sound of an alarm clock in the morning to the sound of an airplane passing by to the sound of your friend screaming at you can cause noise pollution, and leave you effected for a short period, or for the rest of your life. But not all sound is “unwanted”. Many people listen to music, and go out to clubs and parties without suffering from any of the negative symptoms of “unwanted” sound. Many people enjoy playing instruments like the piano or the trumpet. “Wanted” sound, unlike “unwanted” sound can relief stress, and relaxation and the calming of a person. However on the physiological aspects, “wanted” sound can be just as harmful as “unwanted sound”. There are many misconceptions about sound and hearing, and the greatest misconception is about loud sound not being harmful as long as it is wanted.
Literature Review:
The human body perceives sound through the sensory organ called the ear. Humans have two ears, where sound waves enter and transform into signals that can be perceived as “hearing”. Hearing is a complicated process. Everything that moves makes a sound. Sound consists of vibrations that travel in waves which enter the ear and are changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as sounds.
Sound is measured in decibels (dB), where zero is the lower limit of audibility, and 130 dB is the pain threshold. A 10-dB increase equals a doubling in volume: a 75-dB sound is twice as loud as a 65-dB sound. Complete quietness is equal to 20dB of sound. Since everything that moves makes sound, although some of the sounds are so small that they cannot be perceived by the human body, because the sound waves spread out and become too weak to be “heard”.
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The ear can be separated into three sections, the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear is a sound gathering device. The shape allows it to capture sound and funnel it into the ear. The outer ear also serves to protect the ear from dust and other particles from entering and causing damage to the auditory organs. The skin on the outer third of the canal has hairs, sweat glands, and glands that produce earwax. Earwax helps protect the eardrum by trapping dirt that would otherwise lodge against the membrane.
Sound is then taken into the middle ear by the auditory canal where the process of hearing begins. The middle ear is a chamber filled with air, which contains an amplifying system composed of three linked bones. These bones are responsible for the mechanical transfer of sound waves. These bones are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup, which is the smallest bone in the body.
The hearing process begins when sounds enter the ear and reach the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. The eardrum is also known as the tympanic membrane, because of its characteristic to vibrate in a beat. The malleus, near the eardrum begins to vibrate in the same rhythm as the eardrum, and by a lever action, transmits the message to the incus. In the same way, the incus transmits the message to the stapes. The stapes, being so small, fits into a small membranous opening, and relays the vibrations to the inner ear. The footplate of the stapes is attached to a membrane called the oval window, which leads to the inner ear.
As the vibrations move from the relatively large eardrum to the minute stapes, the energy behind the vibrations becomes very concentrated, when they are lead into the inner ear.
The inner ear is where sound is “heard”. Movements of the stapes’ footplate create waves in the fluid that fills the ducts of the cochlea of the inner ear. The cochlea is a bony structure shaped like a snail shell, and contains over 20,000 hair-like sensory cells. This structure is the mechanism central to the hearing process. The sound waves enter into the cochlea and through its spiral. Depending on the pitch of the sound waves, they have their effect on different segments of the cochlea’s sensory “keyboard”. Sounds that have low frequencies activate the wider more flexible sensory cells at the core of the cochlea, and sound with high frequencies activate the narrow more stiff sensory cells at the place of the cochlea closest to the oval window. As the sensory cells vibrate as a result of the waves, they generate impulses that are picked up by the auditory nerve, which branches into the cochlear nerve, attached to each of the fibers. The nerve fibers send impulses of the same frequency as that of a particular sound. The intensity of a sound determines how many hair cells are affected and how many impulses the cochlear nerve sends to the brain. For example, loud sounds move a large number of hair cells, and the cochlear nerve transmits many impulses. The cochlear nerve transmits the impulses to the temporal lobe; the hearing center of the brain, and the brain interprets the impulses as sounds. The signals are heard as a particular sound: a voice, a car passing by, or whatever sound we usually associate with that particular pattern of impulses.
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It is when the waves are too strong, because of the very high frequencies of sound, or when the frequencies of the sound are very intense, that the hair-like sensory cells become damaged. When sensory cells become damaged, sound frequencies that are usually picked up by them in the cochlea will not be “heard”, because the damage separates them from the nerve fibers that can transmit the impulses to the brain.
How Sound Travels to the Inner Ear
How the Ear Changes Sounds Into Nerve Impulses
Development:
A.) Physiological effects of sound on the human body
Sound has an effect on the ear before it leads to any other symptom.
If the sound is load, whether it is coming from a nightclub playing good music, or from an airplane, it sends a wave with the same frequency and intensity into the ear. An airplane releases sound at a level of about 115 dB. When you enter a nightclub, the intensity of the sound is also 115 dB. Both sound waves will enter the ear at a same speed, and will hit the eardrum to vibrate in the same rhythm, leading to the cochlea at the same intensity, effecting the same area of the sensory keyboard. At such levels, the sensory cells become damaged. Since the waves of sound from the airplane are similar to that of the music, then both will effect the ear in the same way.
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Damage to the hair cells in the cochlea will cause hearing loss, but if the hair cells are in an abnormal position: due to the great impact of the sound waves, may cause tinnitus. Tinnitus is a symptom that causes one to have a ringing, whistling or hissing noise in the head. It has no “cure”, and can come and go, depending on the alignment of the hair cells. The noise in the head can be as loud as a hammer, or as soft as running water.
If tinnitus continues, then the body can result in other disorders. Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear marked by periodic attacks of tinnitus. After repeated attacks, the victim may suffer severe hearing loss. The exact cause of the disease is not known. However, researchers have found that the condition involves an increase in the volume and pressure of the inner ear fluid. The pressure of the fluid damages the hair cells of the cochlea and the vestibular organs. In severe cases of the disease, excess fluid builds up and increases the pressure inside the inner ear. When the pressure inside the ear is not the same as the atmospheric pressure outside, the ear “blocks”. The eustachian tube is located in the middle ear. It usually contain an equal pressure to that of the atmosphere outside. But due to sudden pressure changes, the eustachian tube does not have enough time to release air and stabilize the pressures, the ears block and cause temporary hearing loss, until the pressures are equalized.
These effects on the ear, and causes of hearing loss are from both “wanted” and “unwanted” sound. There is a big misconception among youngsters and adults about sound being effective only if it is “unwanted”. Out of 20 students asked about effects of sound, 75% of them thought that sound could only be harmful if it was not wanted. It is for this reason that many students listen to loud music without hesitation. They enjoy it, not realizing that it will affect them negatively. “Wanted” sound is as harmful as “unwanted” sound on the physiological behavior of the human body.
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B.) Psychological effects of sound on the human body:
After sound is taken in by the ear and is “heard”, it can affect the body psychologically. This all depends on the attitude towards the sound. If the sound is wanted, then the attitude towards it is good. However, if the sound is “unwanted”, then it will be a bother. A person becomes annoyed or aggressive if the sound does not stop, because it is disturbing him, and distracting him from his concentration. It has been studied that a person gets annoyed and aggressive at 55 dB of sound when the sound is “unwanted”. This intensity of sound is equivalent to that of a loud conversation, or of a passenger car. If the “unwanted” sound increases above 65 dB of sound, then the amount of stress it forms on the person will cause hypertension, which is high blood pressure. Sound above 75 dB may cause very high stress levels. It is “unwanted” sound that causes stress, which is a major psychological effect.
“Stress is a state of disequilibrium. It is non-specific. It occurs from anything that happens long enough, strong enough, or often enough” Common signs of stress include an increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, muscle tension, mental depression, and an inability to concentrate. Typical reactions include social withdrawal; an increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs; and feelings of helplessness about the situation. Causes of stress are called stressors. These are outside forces that place unusual demands on a person’s body or mind. In this case, the sound is playing an unusual and unwanted demand on the human ear, and the human body as a whole. Reactions to stress include impatience. Impatience leads to negative attitude, which lead to tension and anxiety.
Your attitude towards the unwanted sound may also effect your level of stress. If you perceive the noise as unnecessary and preventable, your annoyance will increase, and with it the level of stress. If you try to stop the source of the sound then you will get more annoyed in your failure. Long-term noise exposure and high blood pressure have been consistently linked to one another in numerous studies. It is therefore safe to say that noise may play a role in such cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease.
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Heart disease is one effect of “unwanted” sound, because of hypertension, caused by stress, which is a result of “unwanted”, and not “wanted” sound. Some symptoms of hypertension include breathing difficulty, headaches, weakness, or dizziness. If untreated, the elevated pressure of the blood makes the heart work harder, causing it to enlarge and at times to fail, resulting in heart attacks and strokes. Imagine, the thought of dying because of loud “unwanted” sound!
The effects of “unwanted” sound versus “wanted” sound is more visible in children. Although not subject to hypertension and heart disorders, children are greatly effected by sound in their academic abilities. Children are sensitive to excessive noise, and their cochlea is destroyed much easier. Sustained exposure to loud “unwanted” sound can effect their cognitive abilities very easily. Many children become forgetful, and due to excessive annoyance at the slightest bit of sound, begin to diminish their attention span. They become stressed at much quicker levels than adults and are very emotional, and mentally unbalanced. Psychologically, kids are effected very easily to a change in the norm. High levels of sound may be a sudden change in a norm, and they react to it very excessively. With very short attention spans, kids develop a disorder known as ADD (Attention Deficiency Disorder).
The slightest bit of sound easily distracts people with attention deficiency disorder, and this can effect their academic performance in school. While taking a test, their concentration can be drifted elsewhere, causing them to do poorly. Also, while studying for tests, their concentration is elsewhere, so they are unable to absorb the material, or learn it for their exams. Typically effected children whether intellectually handicapped or not, perform poorly in school because of their inability to attend to tasks at hand, because of their psychological state.
Psychologically, “unwanted” sound’s effects on the human body are negative. In a contrasting manner, “wanted” sound, although harmful physiologically, can be a source of medicine for the human body. Sound can not only cause stress, but can also relieve it. Sound therapy is an example of this. It is a very popular method of soothing the soul. When one is stressed out, they like to listen to music to help them relax. This is because the sound reminds them of a happy thought, which leaves them in a happy state. The amount of stress levels increase or decrease depending on the attitude towards the sound being processed. Since the sound is “wanted”, the attitude towards it is not hostile but instead, more relaxed and in some cases jubilant. Healing of the body means supporting more positive attitudes and emotions. If the psychological state of the person is positive, then the sounds will result in bringing hope, joy, personal freedom, and many other positive emotions. Therapists encourage people to go to special centers and resorts where they practice methods of musical massage, which helps bringing their body’s vital energies to perfect balance and well being, and to enjoy mental clarity, balanced emotions, and spiritual growth.
In the same ways as negative psychological behavior may cause negative physiological effects, like hypertension, positive psychological behavior can cause positive physiological effects. Certain soothing sounds remind our body of its ideal vibratory rate. Soothing vibrations enter the ear and move into the cochlea. The waves are very weak and move along the sensory cells with very low intensity, massaging the hair like sensory cells. The sensory cells at one point were not exposed to loud noises. The sound patterns gently “message” vital energies to vibrate sympathetically with the special balancing tones of the music. By stimulating the body’s own healing mechanism, the process facilitates self – healing. The focus of sound therapy is on balance and well being, not on actual problems and diseases. However, well being can cause a forgetting of your problems and disease, and can “cure” the person. Some say the best cure for sickness is happiness. If the sound is making you happy, then it will take your mind and thoughts away from your problems, helping you forget about your sickness.
“Wanted” sound effects the psychological behavior in a positive manner, unlike “unwanted” sound. The psychology of a person is his way of mental processing and behavior. All behaviors are a direct result of certain stimuli in a person’s environment, and that environment shapes that individual’s behavior. Environment consists of the conditions and forces that surround and influence a person. The environment can cause certain behavior. For example, unfamiliar surroundings may arouse curiosity or fear, depending on the circumstances. An intermediate level of arousal tends to have the most favorable effect on behavior. Extremely high or low levels of arousal may have a negative effect. A slight feeling of anxiety might help a student’s performance on a test. But extreme anxiety could result in a poor performance. If someone is confident about an exam, he or she will go in and not panic, doing very well. However, if they are too confident, they will not concentrate and skip through the exam, not checking their work because they feel they have done very well.
Conclusion:
“Unwanted” sound and “wanted” sound both have the same direct physiological effect on the human body. Whether sound is wanted or unwanted doesn’t make a difference, because the human sensory organs do not perceive different sounds in different ways. However, it does make a difference on the psychological effects on the human body. “Unwanted” sound causes negative psychological behavior, while “wanted” sound causes positive psychological behavior. No matter what the type of sound is, it still has a great impact on the human body, for it is an environmental factor. If you cannot hear the sound, then you cannot be effected by it. Many people have suffered as a result of sound, and have gone to extreme measures to either kill its source or themselves. And yet, some have gained strength from sound, and have gone to extreme measures to use it as a source of medicine and to preserve it.
Limitations and/or Improvements:
For more accurate results on the topic of “wanted” versus “unwanted” sound, experimentation could have been carried out. Blood pressures and heart rates could have been measured on subjects after being exposed to various types of environments, one containing high frequency intense noises, and the other containing high frequency intense music. These environments of similar sound levels, but containing “unwanted” and “wanted” sound, could have shown that psychologically the effects were greater on the subjects after being exposed to “unwanted sound”. Hearing tests to check for hearing loss could have been performed to show that the physiological effects of both “wanted” and “unwanted” sound were similar.
However, due to lack of access to machinery and hospital equipment, experimentation was limited. Also, to see psychological effects of the human body through experimentation is very difficult. The study of human behavior is a social science, and therefore direct laws are harder to form because of vagueness, ambiguity, and emotive overtones in the subject matter, and because of the inherent complexity of the human beings, and particularly, the human mind.
Further Questions to Be Raised:
– Does hormonal activity change according to changes in frequencies of sound? Through the research, there was a lot of talk about hormonal release due to high stress levels. Is the effect of sound directly related to hormonal change or is there another reason behind digestive upsets, and failures in the immunity system.
– It is known that noise pollution is a cause of many problems related to human behavior. What precautions and drastic measures should be made to make this world a more pleasant place to live? There are laws in certain places around the world, yet many countries suffer from noise pollution. Countries such as Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Norway, and Germany, to name a few, suffer from constant noise pollution.
-Noise is transient: once the pollution stops, the environment is free of it immediately. However, once hit by it, the human body may never get rid of its effects. This is not the case for chemicals, sewage, and other pollutants introduced into the air, soil, or water. Other forms of pollution can be measured, and scientists can estimate how much material can be introduced into the environment before harm is done. Though we can measure individual sounds that may actually damage the human body, it is difficult to monitor exposure to noise or to determine just how much noise it too much. There should be a method of preventing noise pollution before it hits, so that it isn’t given a chance to scar people for the rest of their lives. Governments can place fines for loud noises, or remove horns from cars. Any method to reduce noise is a method of strengthening health.
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