Noise Pollution or Sound Pollution, exposure of people or animals to levels of sound that are annoying, stressful, or damaging to the ears. Although loud and frightening sounds are part of nature, only in recent centuries has much of the world become urban, industrial, and chronically noisy.


Most noise pollution comes from machines, especially automobiles, trucks, and aircraft. Construction equipment, farm machines, and the din of machinery inside factories can be dangerously loud. Some home appliances, shop tools, lawnmowers, and leaf blowers can also be noisy, as are guns, firecrackers, and some toys. Even music, when played at very high volume, particularly through personal headphones, is as damaging to the ears as a roaring chain saw.

Hearing loss can also occur in the workplace, where individuals may be unable to avoid loud sounds and where exposure may continue for years. Factory workers, construction workers, farmers, military personnel, police officers, firefighters, and musicians all have reason to be concerned about their occupational exposure to noise.