One thing I noticed immediately when I first moved back to Guyana several years ago was how loud the place was. I’d lived in big cities for many years, but even so, I was not prepared for the sound of Guyana. From the booming minibuses, church halls, bars, clubs, rum shops, and neighbours-the level of noise in Guyana was astounding, and that wasn’t even taking into consideration the road traffic and industrial/construction noise.
In other places around the world, there is a zoning system which separates land into different usage areas such as residential, commercial, or recreational. Under such a system, churches, bars/clubs, industrial workshops, and other businesses are not located in the same areas where people live, in recognition by the authorities of the fact that people often want and deserve peace and quiet in their homes. Sadly however, this system is virtually nonexistent in Guyana.
While this can be remedied though, another thing that we’re lacking-which legislation cannot provide-is consideration for others. While bars/clubs/churches/ businesses eventually close, the noise coming from a neighbour can occur at any time. Too many Guyanese blast music from their homes and vehicles at ear splitting levels, without any concern for whether the people around them might want to sleep, study, be sick, or simply not be a fan of the same kind of music. Aside from being annoying, there is actual scientific evidence that too much sound, at too high a level, can be harmful to human health and well-being.
According to the World Health Organization, “Excessive noise seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities at school, at work, at home and during leisure time. It can disturb sleep, cause cardiovascular and psychophysiological effects, reduce performance and provoke annoyance responses and changes in social behaviour.” The fact is that noise pollution- as excessive noise is termed-has both temporary and longer-term negative effects on our well-being.
Hearing loss is the first and most obvious effect. This can occur with prolonged exposure to sound at 85 decibels or
