The loud horn of a car, the screeching of a metro departure or even the din of a drill… The consequences of these everyday noises go beyond simple annoyance, and have real consequences on our health. “On average, in Île-de-France, we are around 11 months [de vie en bonne santé] lost over a lifetime, due to exposure to noise”, explains Fanny Mietlicki, director of Bruitparif, organization public responsible for measuring noise pollution. This health cost can range from a few months to three years, depending on noise exposure.
Invisible and painless, noise pollution has long been underestimated by doctors and authorities. For example concerning the impact on the quality of our hearing. “This is a very recent problem, it was not studied ten years ago” recognizes Boris Gourévitch. The neuroscientist details in our video how this environmental noise disturbs our sleep, and causes an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
For our survey, we questioned those who observe noise in Île-de-France, and those who study it in laboratories. With a detour through the anechoic chamber of the Institute for Acoustic/Music Research and Coordination (Ircam), one of the quietest spaces on the planet…
