From roaring leaf blowers to screeching trains, the world is full of unwelcome noise—and researchers have found that noisy environments can take a real toll on people’s mental and physical health. Arline Bronzaft, PhD, talks about how noise affects health and well-being, how it can harm kids’ learning, why it’s not just a problem in big cities, and the most unusual noise complaints she’s heard in her 5 decades of advocacy combating noise pollution.

Experts describe ways to turn down the volume, from earbuds to smartphone apps that detect harmful noise levels.

In its November 2023 issue, The Hearing Journal published my editorial about the new definition of noise, which expands on ideas I published in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) in 2019.

Why is quiet important for our health?