聽力課堂TED音頻欄目主要包括TED演講的音頻MP3及中英雙語文稿,供各位英語愛好者學習使用。本文主要內容為演講MP3+雙語文稿:為什么噪音對你的健康有害?你能做些什么?,希望你會喜歡!
【演講者及介紹】
Mathias Basner,博士,碩士,是賓夕法尼亞大學佩勒曼醫(yī)學院精神病學系的副教授。睡眠與噪聲研究者。他的主要研究領域包括睡眠不足對神經(jīng)行為和認知功能的影響,睡眠時間和清醒活動的總體研究,交通噪音對睡眠和健康的影響,以及長期太空任務中宇航員的行為健康。
【演講主題】為什么噪音對你的健康有害?你能做些什么?
【中英文字幕】
翻譯者 Ruijie Wu 校對者 Jin Ge
00:17
Do you hear that? Do you know what that is?Silence. The sound of silence. Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about it. Butsilence is a pretty rare commodity these days, and we're all paying a price forit in terms of our health -- a surprisingly big price, as it turns out.Luckily, there are things we can do right now, both individually and as asociety, to better protect our health and give us more of the benefits of thesounds of silence.
你們聽到了嗎?你們知道那是什么嗎?寂靜。那是寂靜的聲音。西蒙和加芬克爾二人為它寫過一首歌,(《寂靜之聲》)但現(xiàn)如今寂靜變得尤其罕見,而我們都在為此付出的代價——尤其是在健康上,而且是非常巨大的代價。幸運的是,我們現(xiàn)在還是可以做些什么,不管是個人還是社會,來保護我們的健康,以及讓我們享受到更多寂靜帶來的好處。
00:56
I assume that most of you know that toomuch noise is bad for your hearing. Whenever you leave a concert or a bar andyou have that ringing in your ears, you can be certain that you have done somedamage to your hearing, likely permanent. And that's very important. However,noise affects our health in many different ways beyond hearing. They're lesswell-known, but they're just as dangerous as the auditory effects.
我想大部分人應該知道過多的噪音對聽力會有損害,你在離開一個演唱會或者酒吧的時候,如果耳中還有余音,那你的聽力肯定已經(jīng)受到損害了,而且很可能是永久性的。這很重要。不過,噪音對健康的影響遠不止于聽力,這些影響不為人所知,但卻和聽覺受損同樣危險。
01:23
So what do we mean when we talk aboutnoise? Well, noise is defined as unwanted sound, and as such, both has aphysical component, the sound, and a psychological component, the circumstancesthat make the sound unwanted. A very good example is a rock concert. A personattending the rock concert, being exposed to 100 decibels, does not think ofthe music as noise. This person likes the band, and even paid a hundred dollarsfor the ticket, so no matter how loud the music, this person doesn't think ofit as noise. In contrast, think of a person living three blocks away from theconcert hall. That person is trying to read a book, but cannot concentratebecause of the music. And although the sound pressure levels are much lower inthis situation, this person still thinks of the music as noise, and it maytrigger reactions that can, in the long run, have health consequences.
所以,當我們在談論噪音時,究竟在談論什么?噪音是“不被歡迎的聲音”,它包括物理層面,即聲音本身,以及心理層面,即該聲音不受歡迎的原因。搖滾樂演唱會就是個很好的例子,參加搖滾演唱會的人會被100分貝的聲音環(huán)繞,但卻不認為那是噪音。他喜歡那個樂隊,甚至花了100美元買票。所以不管音樂有多大聲,他也不會認為那是噪音。反過來,想想住在演唱會場館三個街區(qū)以外的一個人,他正想看書,但因為音樂聲而無法集中注意力,盡管在這里,音量已經(jīng)小了很多,但他仍然會認為這是噪音,而且還可能觸發(fā)引起長期健康問題的反應。
02:21
So why are quiet spaces so important?Because noise affects our health in so many ways beyond hearing. However, it'sbecoming increasingly difficult to find quiet spaces in times of constantlyincreasing traffic, growing urbanization, construction sites, air-conditioningunits, leaf blowers, lawnmowers, outdoor concerts and bars, personal musicplayers, and your neighbors partying until 3am. Whew!
所以為什么安靜的地方如此重要?因為噪音對我們的影響遠遠大于聽力損害。但是,現(xiàn)在要想找到安靜的地方難上加難,交通更擁擠,城市化加速,到處工程施工、空調運作,還有吹葉機和除草機的聲音,包括戶外音樂會和酒吧、獨立音樂演奏者,你的鄰居還夜夜笙歌至凌晨三點,呼!
02:52
In 2011, the World Health Organizationestimated that 1.6 million healthy life years are lost every year due toexposure to environmental noise in the Western European member states alone. Oneimportant effect of noise is that it disturbs communication. You may have toraise your voice to be understood. In extreme cases, you may even have to pausethe conversation. It's also more likely to be misunderstood in a noisyenvironment. These are all likely reasons why studies have found that childrenwho attend schools in noisy areas are more likely to lag behind their peers inacademic performance.
2011年,世界健康組織預計,每年人們的健康生命年總損失達160萬年,僅僅因為環(huán)境噪音,而這還只算了西歐國家。噪音的一大影響是它阻礙了溝通,人們需要提高音量來讓別人聽到,在極端情況下,你可能還要中斷對話。而在嘈雜環(huán)境中,人們也更容易被誤解。因此,研究發(fā)現(xiàn),在嘈雜地區(qū)上學的兒童,更傾向于在學術表現(xiàn)上比同齡人落后。
03:35
Another very important health effect ofnoise is the increased risk for cardiovascular disease in those who are exposedto relevant noise levels for prolonged periods of time. Noise is stress,especially if we have little or no control over it. Our body excretes stresshormones like adrenaline and cortisol that lead to changes in the compositionof our blood and in the structure of our blood vessels, which have been shownto be stiffer after a single night of noise exposure. Epidemiological studiesshow associations between the noise exposure and an increased risk for highblood pressure, heart attacks and stroke, and although the overall riskincreases are relatively small, this still constitutes a major public healthproblem because noise is so ubiquitous, and so many people are exposed torelevant noise levels. A recent study found that US society could save 3.9billion dollars each year by lowering environmental noise exposure by fivedecibels, just by saving costs for treating cardiovascular disease. There areother diseases like cancer, diabetes and obesity that have been linked to noiseexposure, but we do not have enough evidence yet to, in fact, conclude thatthese diseases are caused by the noise.
另一個重要的噪音帶來的健康影響是,它會提高人們得心血管疾病的幾率,尤其是那些在較高噪音水平中,生活了很長時間的人。噪音帶來壓力,尤其是在我們無法控制噪音的情況下。我們的身體會分泌荷爾蒙,如腎上腺素和皮質醇,它們會改變我們的血液組成,還會改變我們的血管架構,比如當我們經(jīng)歷了一晚的噪音后,血管就會變硬。流行病學研究發(fā)現(xiàn),噪音會帶來高血壓的風險,以及心臟病發(fā)作、中風等風險,雖然這樣的風險增加度不高,但這仍然是影響大眾健康狀況的很大因素。因為噪音無處不在,太多人一直在不同程度的噪音當中。近期一個研究發(fā)現(xiàn),美國每年可以省下39億美元,只要把環(huán)境噪音降低5分貝,而這也是為治療心血管疾病省下成本。還有其它疾病如癌癥、糖尿病和肥胖癥,它們都和噪音暴露有關系。但我們目前實際上還沒有足夠的證據(jù),來說明這些疾病是由噪音造成的。
04:59
Yet another important effect of noise issleep disturbance. Sleep is a very active mechanism that recuperates us andprepares us for the next wake period. A quiet bedroom is a cornerstone of whatsleep researchers call "a good sleep hygiene." And our auditorysystem has a watchman function. It's constantly monitoring our environment forthreats, even while we're sleeping. So noise in the bedroom can cause a delayin the time it takes us to fall asleep, it can wake us up during the night, andit can prevent our blood pressure from going down during the night. We have thehypothesis that if these noise-induced sleep disturbances continue for monthsand years, then an increased risk for cardiovascular disease is likely theconsequence. However, we are often not aware of these noise-induced sleepdisturbances, because we are unconscious while we're sleeping. In the past,we've done studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep, and researchsubjects would often wake up in the morning and say, "Ah, I had awonderful night, I fell asleep right away, never really woke up." When wewould go back to the physiological signals we had recorded during the night, wewould often see numerous awakenings and a severely fragmented sleep structure.These awakenings were too brief for the subjects to regain consciousness and toremember them during the next morning, but they may nevertheless have aprofound impact on how restful our sleep is.
噪音另一個重要影響是睡眠,睡眠是一個非?;钴S的機制,來為我們恢復活力,讓我們準備好迎接下一個清醒時段。一個安靜的房間是一些研究者口中的“一個好覺”的基石。我們的聽力系統(tǒng)有一個“看門人”的功能,它持續(xù)地檢測著我們所處的環(huán)境中是否有威脅,即便是在我們睡覺的時候。所以房間里的噪音會延遲我們的入睡時間,還會讓我們在半夜醒來,它會阻礙我們的血壓在夜晚降低。我們有個假設,如果這種被噪音性睡眠障礙持續(xù)幾個月或幾年,那么心血管疾病的發(fā)病概率將會提高。然而,我們常常無法意識到這些噪音性睡眠障礙的存在,因為我們在睡覺時沒有意識。我們曾經(jīng)對在交通噪音環(huán)境中睡覺的人做過研究,研究對象們經(jīng)常在早晨起來后說,“啊,我昨晚睡得很好,馬上睡著了,中途也沒有醒?!暗斘覀兓仡^看各種前晚記錄的身體數(shù)據(jù)時,我們常??吹酱罅康纳眢w喚醒,以及嚴重片段化的睡眠結構。這些喚醒太短,不至于讓被研究者恢復意識,或者在第二天早上還能記得。但它們將會帶來深遠的影響,決定了我們的睡眠帶來的休息價值有多少。
06:30
So when is loud too loud? A good sign oftoo loud is once you start changing your behavior. You may have to raise yourvoice to be understood, or you increase the volume of your TV. You're avoidingoutside areas, or you're closing your window. You're moving your bedroom to thebasement of the house, or you even have sound insulation installed. Many peoplewill move away to less noisy areas, but obviously not everybody can affordthat.
所以什么時候聲音才算過大?一個很好的信號是,你開始改變你的行為。比如你可能要更大聲地說話以讓別人理解,或者你開始增加電視音量,你開始避開戶外區(qū)域,關上窗戶,你把你的臥室移到地下室,或者你甚至裝上了隔音設備。很多人會搬到更少噪音的地方去,但顯然不是所有人都可以負擔得起。
06:59
So what can we do right now to improve oursound environment and to better protect our health? Well, first of all, ifsomething's too loud, speak up. For example, many owners of movie theaters seemto think that only people hard of hearing are still going to the movies. If youcomplain about the noise and nothing happens, demand a refund and leave. That'sthe language that managers typically do understand. Also, talk to your childrenabout the health effects of noise and that listening to loud music today willhave consequences when they're older. You can also move your bedroom to thequiet side of the house, where your own building shields you from road trafficnoise. If you're looking to rent or buy a new place, make low noise a priority.Visit the property during different times of the day and talk to the neighborsabout noise. You can wear noise-canceling headphones when you're traveling orif your office has high background noise levels. In general, seek out quietspaces, especially on the weekend or when you're on vacation. Allow your systemto wind down.
所以我們可以做些什么來改善聲音環(huán)境呢,從而保護我們的健康呢?第一,如果你感覺太吵,就要表達意見。比如,很多電影院的老板,好像都以為只有聽力不好的人才去電影院,如果你抱怨過它的噪音但沒有效果,你可以要求退款或者直接離開,電影院的經(jīng)理肯定會明白你傳達的信息的。你還可以教導你的孩子們關于噪音對健康的影響,他們現(xiàn)在大聲地聽音樂,以后他們將為此付出代價。你也可以把你的臥室移到房子比較安靜的地方,你的房子本身就可以為你阻擋一部分的交通噪音。如果你正在尋找新的房子,把安靜和噪音少作為首選條件,在一天的不同時間參觀房子,和鄰居討論一下噪音。在旅行的時候,你可以戴降噪耳機,如果你的辦公室有強噪音環(huán)境,也可以戴??偟膩碚f,尋找安靜的地方,尤其是在周末或你正在休假的時候,讓你的身體系統(tǒng)放松。
08:10
I, very appropriately for this talk,attended a noise conference in Japan four years ago. When I returned to theUnited States and entered the airport, a wall of sound hit me. This tells youthat we don't realize anymore the constant degree of noise pollution we'reexposed to and how much we could profit from more quiet spaces.
和這次演講十分呼應的是,四年前,我在日本參加了一個有關噪音的會議,當我回到美國,進入機場時,無數(shù)聲音像墻一樣向我襲來。這告訴我們,我們不再對噪音污染的暴露感到敏感,而且也不再意識到安靜的環(huán)境可以給我們帶來多大的好處。
08:32
What else can we do about noise? Well, verymuch like a carbon footprint, we all have a noise footprint, and there arethings we can do to make that noise footprint smaller. For example, don't startmowing your lawn at 7am on a Saturday morning. Your neighbors will thank you.Or use a rake instead of a leaf blower. In general, noise reduction at thesource makes the most sense, so whenever you're looking to buy a new car,air-conditioning unit, blender, you name it, make low noise a priority. Manymanufacturers will list the noise levels their devices generate, and some evenadvertise with them. Use that information.
我們還能做些什么?正如二氧化碳足跡一樣,我們也有噪音足跡,而這些是我們可以縮小噪音足跡的方式。比如,不要在周六早上七點就開始除草,你的鄰居會感謝你的?;蛘吣憧梢杂冒易佣皇谴等~機??偟膩碚f,從源頭減少噪音是最合理的,所以當你在考慮買新車,買空調,買攪拌機,或者其它什么的時候,把低噪音作為一個首選條件。很多制造商會把低噪音水平考慮到設備生產中,有些甚至會以此作為廣告亮點,好好利用這樣的信息。
09:14
Many people think that stronger noiseregulation and enforcement are good ideas, even obvious solutions, perhaps, butit's not as easy as you may think, because many of the activities that generatenoise also generate revenue. Think about an airport and all the business thatis associated with it. Our research tells politicians at what noise level theycan expect a certain health effect, and that helps inform better noise policy.
很多認為有力的噪音法規(guī)和執(zhí)行是好的方法,甚至可能覺得這才是最明顯的解決方式,但這不像人們想象中簡單。因為許多帶來噪音的活動,同樣帶來收入。想想機場帶來的商業(yè)效應就知道了。我們的研究也告訴政治家們,怎樣的噪音水平會帶來怎樣的健康效應,這會幫助更有效的噪音政策出臺。
09:42
Robert Koch supposedly once said, "Oneday, mankind will fight noise as relentlessly as cholera and the pest." Ithink we're there, and I hope that we will win this fight, and when we do, wecan all have a nice, quiet celebration.
細菌學家羅泊特·科赫曾說,“總有一天,人類和噪音的斗爭會像他們和霍亂、害蟲的斗爭一樣殘酷?!蔽蚁脒@一天已經(jīng)來到了,我希望我們可以贏得這場斗爭,而當這實現(xiàn)時,我們可以舉行一次美好的、安靜的慶祝活動。
09:59
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
10:00
Thank you.
謝謝。
10:01
(Applause)
(掌聲)