Acoustics experts have warned that unless the government evolves and enforces laws that will prevent noise pollution, many individuals may become deaf. JANE CHIJIOKE reports that this anomaly has spurred the intervention of Kemi-Remi-Dairo Hearing Foundation to sensitise people to the dangers of noise pollution.
Jide works in a biscuit manufacturing firm. He was not used to too loud noise until he began to work in the company. His hearing state was normal. Some of the equipment with which the products are produced are obsolete, and therefore, make so much noise.
At a point, Jide started talking to his colleagues in high tone without knowing that he was shouting. This is because; constant exposure to loud noise from the machines has affected his auditory system.
When examined by an acoustics expert, it was discovered that the noise from the equipment was above the normal 85 decibels (dBs) and had perforated his ear membrane which resulted in his temporary hearing loss.
Jide’s case is only one out of several million individuals who suffer from aural disorders caused by noise pollution that has damaging effects on the human body system. This apparently manifests in the damage of the auricle as an initial sign.
Experts contend that noise is one of the most dangerous and silent environmental pollutions as its effects on human body system could lead to death.
Noise is referred to as an undesirable sound that results from the activities of man. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that noise is a dangerous agent that affects human health and the environment.
Mindful of the health hazards associated with noise that has been described as loud enemies of our ears by experts, the Kemi-Remi-Dairo Hearing Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has begun to sensitise the public to the dangers of noise pollution.
The event, which held at Sheba Hall, Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, attracted event planners, Disk Jockeys, sound engineers, operators of power generating sets and bands, among others.
The foundation also assists people suffering from hearing loss to access medical treatment. Currently, it has 12 people waiting for medical solutions as a result of hearing loss.
Hearing loss, or hearing impairment happens when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear or ears, especially when the nerves coming from the ears, or the part of the brain that controls hearing is “impaired” or not working correctly or as well as it should.
The foundation maintains that exposure to excessive noise emanating from residential areas, parties, churches, mosques, market places, car horns, traffic, industrial areas, music sellers and others on daily basis has resulted in some individuals being susceptible to hearing loss and other health issues.
With a population of over 21 million living in the metropolitan city of Lagos, and being the economic capital of West Africa, the waves of unsolicited sounds that pierce through the human ears have become somewhat normal daily phenomenon so much so that many people are ignorant of the dangers they portend.
Kemi-Remi-Dairo, the founder of the NGO, had suffered hearing loss for five years. The event planner lost her ability to hear sounds to a bad speaker in 2013 at an event she managed. She resorted to fundraising for her Cochlear implant surgery but was unable to raise the $90,000 required for the surgery. She had almost resigned to fate when an international foundation intervened.
“I had an encounter with a malfunctioned speaker at an event where I was trying to help someone to tell the Disk Jockey to reduce the volume. I was standing very close to the speaker and in the process, it blasted into my ears. I felt a sharp sound in my ears. I never knew it was an emergency. Days after the event, I could still hear the sounds of the event but after the sound faded off, my hearing ability was badly affected.
“Months after people began to tell me that I did not hear them when they talk to me. That was how I began consultations, hearing aids, visiting hospitals and I was told that I have lost my right ear while the left one is partially deaf and there was the need for me to undergo surgery.
“So, I solicited for funds. I was able to raise $35,000 but I was billed $90,000 which is over N28 million. I continued seeking for financial assistance and at the same time, I continued with my MRI test in different hospitals. At a point, I couldn’t continue. I had to wait and see what eventually happens to me. But, fortunately for me, at the point where I couldn’t move forward again, one of the international NGOs called Dallas Hearing Foundation to sort my surgery bill and that was how I did my surgery on October 9, 2018.
“It was a terrible moment of my life; I was depressed, isolated, I was into depression without even knowing it. It got to the point I considered committing suicide; but thank God it is all in the past now,” she said.
Her five-year journey into semi-deafness informed her decision to sensitise the public to the consequences of noise pollution that might inform policy and regulatory framework in the country.
She cautioned that the human ear should be protected properly, even as she advised people to go for auditory tests to know their acoustic status to avert any damage. She also advised the Federal Government to prioritise health in their policies and programmes.
At the event, a human resource expert, Idowu Oladiamond Olarenwaju explained that continuous exposure to noise pollution will distort the natural state of mind of an individual.
He said humankind are not supposed to be exposed to sounds above 85 decibels (85 dB) which if exposed beyond that, stresses the auditory lens, thereby increasing pressure which transit to the brain. This increases the blood pressure to respond to the pressure emanating from the sound.
“At this point, an individual is mentally unbalanced without even knowing it.
“If exposed to excessive noise for one hour, it takes the brain two hours to regain its normal state. If exposed to two hours, it takes the brain six hours, if exposed to four hours, it takes the brain 16 hours and if exposed to continuous eight hours, it takes the brain two days to heal.
“So, when the brain has not healed from the previous exposure and you continue to expose it more too loud noise, it deteriorates your hearing ability,” he said.
A team member of the Foundation, Mrs Treasure Uchegbu was worried that the productive age bracket of the population is liable to deafness which will affect the economic growth of the country if nothing is urgently done to regulate noise pollution. She, however, said residents of Lagos do not pay significant attention to the effect of noise pollution from long time exposure.
She maintained that noise pollution could lead to inconvenience, annoyance; irritation and, in some cases, alter a human physical and psychological state.
The worrisome figure of 14 million people with hearing impairment released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its projection of 60 per cent of Africans going deaf by 2050, Uchegbu said, is a warning signal to take proactive measures to change the narrative.
A celebrity Dj, cum sound engineer, Oma Mowete popularly known as Dj Mow explained that speakers at any occasion should be placed at least three meters away from where seats are positioned, be above the ear level or placed in the ceiling.
He lamented that Djs are not professional sound engineers that is why they play high volumes of sound.
“Eighty per cent of celebrity Djs abuse sound. Djs and live bands always play high as they want to enjoy the music. They do not understand how sound works. All they want to do is keep blasting music. There should be a standard.
“Nigerians like playing music at loudest point at parties. We always go above the safe limit of sound. Even with the regulation at 80 decibels, in our parties we hit 104-220 decibels with humans in there. We need to prioritise safety before the entertainment in it. This is because once one loses one’s hearing; one almost cannot get it back. So, why can’t we prevent it?” he queried.
He advised that for safety measure, listening breaks can be adopted at parties to relax the ears and also use ear plugs to muffle up sounds piercing the ear drums.
Corroborating Mowete’s assertion, a live band entertainer, Akin Shuga remarked that professionalism in the production of good sound is not about the high volume projected into speakers which many disk jockeys are guilty of. Ideally, he said, about a crew of 12 to 14 people aside the disk jockey and live band is needed for a good sound delivery.
He frowned at the ingenuity of hall owners and event planners who give false capacity details of halls to clients which eventually will affect the placement of speakers. This, he said, contributes largely to noise pollution at events.
“How can a speaker be placed in front of where a guest is sitting. It is very dangerous because the amount of what comes into your ear in terms of keyboard, pianos, drums, the loud volume and other instruments is enough to cause lifelong hearing impairment and continuous exposure to sounds can also lead to death,” he said.
Funke Bucknor Obruthe, a renowned event planner noted that there was need to educate people who rent halls on the dangers of sound and also a synergy of both the bands, DJs, power generating set operators, sound technicians and event planners to ensure that guests who attend occasions are safe.
She expressed her worry that the financial will power to get good sound technicians to manage sounds at occasions might be a barrier to combating noise pollution.
As a precautionary measure, another sound technician, Oni Joseph advised that people should avoid sitting close to speakers, adding that a decibel meter application on their phones should be handy to help them measure the amount of sound within any environment they are in.