Background din leaves children stressed out

By KATHERINE HOBY AND AGENCIES

Children can become stressed by background noise levels typical of most urban environments, new research suggests.

An Austrian Ministry of Health study has found that exposure to everyday sounds of traffic can raise youngsters' blood pressure, heart rate and levels of stress hormones.

The study also found constant exposure to low-intensity noise could give children problems with motivation.

Peter Lercher, of the University of Innsbruck, and Gary Evans, of Cornell University in New York, looked at 115 9- and 10-year-olds from Austria's Inn Valley region.

They were divided into those living in neighbourhoods with noise levels under 50 decibels and over 60 decibels.

Professor Evans said previous research had focused on what happened to hearing when people lived near excessively loud noise from airports or high-speed rail lines.

"We are not really looking at loud kinds of noise. They are typical levels found throughout neighbourhoods in Europe," he said. "Anything that increases blood pressure over time is something to worry about."

Auckland psychologist Henk van Bilsen agreed with the findings.

"Even if you have got used to constant exposure to noise and don't think it's stressful, the body thinks kind of differently about that," he said.

Constant exposure to noise could lead to increased stress levels in adults, children and also animals.

Humans were not built to endure a constantly high level of noise.

An essential factor in the effect of noise on health was the amount of control an individual had over it.

"If we have the control, it makes it less damaging," said Mr van Bilsen.

People living in lower socio-economic areas were more likely to be prone to stress from noise, as houses were often built very close to one another and to large structures such as motorways.