A new study by Curry’s PC World has ranked the top nine noisiest cities across the UK.
The study looked at noise complaints made to local councils, how cities rank for noise and light pollutions levels and looking at the number of the population among other things. It also surveyed over 3000 people asking what sounds they find the most and least relaxing.
London had the most noise complaints with 189 counts per 10,000 people. With a population of around 8.9 million, that works out to be around 47,131 complaints a year.
Following London is Bradford, with the city being the second loudest in the UK with 64 noise complaints and scoring 65.62/100 for noise and light pollution.
Newcastle ranks third with 56 noise complaints per 10,000 people, with Norwich, Coventry, Portsmouth, Northampton, Manchester, and Bristol trailing behind.
The study also ranked the top ten most hated sounds, with loud chewing taking up almost half of the votes at 48.92%. Closely following this is construction work at 42.99% and alarms at 40.32%. Children screaming takes the fourth spot, with snoring, slurping drinks, a dog barking, sniffling, dripping taps, and monsquitos and other flying bugs all making the list.
On the oppoosite end of the spectrum is the most relaxing sounds. While some people long for peace and quiet, silence isn’t everyone’s idea of a relaxing environment. Almost a quarter of Brits feel anxious, stressed, panicked or angry when exposed to prolonged periods of complete silence.
The people surveyed said that listening to music is the most calming sound, with watching TV, and silence taking the second and third spot. The people surveyed found that listening to podcasts, audibooks, white noise, and ASMR is also relaxing.
ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response noises which means that certain noises such as lip-smaking, chewing goof, tapping on surfaces or whispering, cna trigger a tingling sensation in some people.
It differs from person to person but can be the worlst nightmare for somebody who suffers from misphonia, a dissorder which sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that some might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstance.
Noise pollution impacts millions of people on a daily basis. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for community noise recommend less than 30 A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) in bedrooms during the night for a sleep of good quality and less than 35 dB(A) in classrooms to allow good teaching and learning conditions.
Feature image credit: Blaz Erzetic via Unsplash.
