98 MAY 2019 / WOMANSDAY.COM
Health / BRING ON THE CALM
Your Body on
NOISE
If the brain perceives a sound as
alarming or even just annoy ing,
it sets off a surge of cortisol,
adrenaline, and other stress
hormones that help you run from a
threat, explains Amanda Edwards,
Au.D., a clinical audiologist
at Vanderbilt University. The
problem? This hormonal response
also tends to happen when you
are startled by sounds that aren’t
life-threatening (think car alarms,
jack hammers, or loud laughter
at a restaurant) and can elicit
potentially unhealthy physiological
responses, says Paul Salmon, Ph.D.,
associate professor in the
department of psychological and
brain sciences at the University
of Louisville in Kentucky.
A growing number of
researchers say the impact noise
has on your body, mind, and mood
is too great to ignore. Chronic
noise—like frequent exposure
to road traffic and planes flying
overhead—causes small injuries
to the hair cells in your ear, which
transmit sound signals to the brain.
Those hair cells can recover if
you give them the chance. “Think
of them like a patch of grass,” says
Edwards. “If you trample on grass,
it’ll lie down and eventually spring
back up. In the same way, exposure
to loud noise knocks the hair cells
down temporarily, and they pop
back up w ithin a matter of days.
But if you don’t give them a break,
they may never pop back up—
and your hearing will be impaired.”
While the noise most people
are exposed to regularly isn’t likely
to lead to significant hearing loss,
it is disturbing your sleep, affecting
your ability to focus, and messing
w ith your stress hormones, all
of which can contribute to heart
disease, says Neitzel. Research
has even found that loud music can
drive unhealthy food choices, and
the chronic stress reaction from
constant noise has been linked to
diabetes, respiratory disorders,
and cancer.
But the good news is there are
smart strategies (below) to help
you deal with our jangling world.
Get out into
nature and listen.
The sounds you hear
when you take a walk in
the woods or sit on a
beach—birds chirping,
leaves rustling, waves
lapping—produce the
opposite effect of the
noise you’re exposed to in
cities and suburbs, says
Rachel Buxton, Ph.D., a
Colorado State University
postdoctoral researcher
who studies the impact
of noise pollution. “A
growing body of evidence
shows that when you
go into a natural area,
it makes you more
focused, boosts mood,
improves memory,
and lowers stress levels,”
Buxton says.
Fight noise
with white noise,
especially at night.
Research shows that
even when people think
they’ve slept through
certain sounds, they’ve
had cardiovascular
responses that activated
their fight-or-flight
responses. A sound
machine, a humidifier, or
another form of white
noise can help.
Load up your diet
with produce.
Studies show a specific
connection between
eating and hearing.
Produce is rich in
antioxidants, which can
help prevent damage to
hair cells in the inner ear.
Start meditating.
Once you become
aware of the sounds
you’re exposed to, you
may realize just how
noisy your life is—and
you may feel even more
annoyed by the constant
clamoring. One good
antidote is meditation.
“You learn to say, OK,
that’s just sound rather
than get into this
elaborate story about
the annoying car horn or
the oblivious coworker,”
says Salmon. The result?
You won’t feel so riled
up by what’s causing the
ruckus—and at least
some of the impact of
our clattering, buzzing,
banging world will roll
right off you.
Upgrade to
noise-canceling
headphones. They’re
worth the price if you can
swing it. “They block
background sounds well
enough that you’ll be able
to listen to something
at a quieter level,” says
Colleen Le Prell, Au.D.,
head of the audiology
degree program at the
University of Texas at
Dallas School of Behavioral
and Brain Sciences.
INCREASE THE PEACE
Does it sometimes feel hard to turn down the volume? Experts say there’s a lot
you can do to combat the effects of your so-loud life.
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