17.05.2013 change 17.05.2013

Study: Wrocław is the loudest Polish city

The highest average noise value during rush hour was recorded in Wrocław city centre. More than 72 dB recorded at facades of residential buildings gives the capital of Lower Silesia the first place on the list of the loudest Polish cities.

Noise measurements were carried out in the centres of the five Polish cities: Warsaw, Wrocław , Katowice, Gdańsk, Białystok. The sound level was measured during rush hour, for 60 minutes in city centres, at facades of residential buildings. The study was conducted as part of the "Let\'s make it quieter" campaign.

The highest average value of 72.1 dB was recorded in Wrocław , where the measurement point was located at Piotra Skargi. Wrocław was followed by Gdańsk, where the noise level at Grunwaldzka was 71.3 dB. Average noise level during the day at Aleje Jerozolimskie in Warsaw reaches 68.1 dB, and at Aleja Korfantego in Katowice - 66.5 dB. The quietest city was Bialystok, with 64.9 dB at Pałacowa.

"It turns out that with such an intensity of traffic noise, we are exposed to it even at home. Standard windows have sound insulation factor of about 30 dB. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the noise level indoors, even with the windows closed, will be in the range of about 35 dB to 42 dB. Permissible level is 35 dB during the day and 25 dB at night. In the studied cities, it is loud not only in the streets, but also in homes" - commented Jacek Szulczyk of the Acoustic - Environmental Laboratory ECO-POMIAR t.

Experts from the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing report that every third Pole has communication problems - congenital or acquired hearing impairment. Recent studies have shown that one in five 7-8-year-olds is hearing impaired, and as many as 15 percent children have tinnitus, caused by remaining in a very noisy environment, and listening to music through headphones.

"Then there are unhealed upper respiratory tract infections. They often lead to obliterative and effusion changes, and hearing loss. Appropriate treatment can restore good hearing. The confirmation of noise-induced hearing loss is initially transient and then permanent ringing in the ears" - says Director of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Prof. Henryk Skarżyński.

3M’s educational campaign "Let\'s make it quieter" is aimed to build awareness of Poles about hearing protection and the dangers of noise. Patron of the campaign is the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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