by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Wednesday, April 29, 2020, is the 25th anniversary of International Noise Awareness Day. Twenty-five years isn’t quite as big an anniversary as fifty years, e.g, for Earth Day this year, but it is still an accomplishment. The Center for Hearing and Communication started observing this day to encourage people to do something about bothersome noise.
One of the small silver linings worldwide as a result of lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the marked decrease in traffic as people shelter in place, with corresponding decreases in almost all types of transportation noise. Urban dwellers report they can hear birdsong. Of course, when everyone is home, noise from a neighbor who is also at home can be much more annoying than when it only occurs while one is at work.
In general, a quieter world is a healthier world for all living things. And I will be observing the day by going for my morning walk and listening for the call of the neighborhood’s Cooper’s hawk.
What will you do to celebrate International Noise Awareness Day?
