Noise-an Environmental Hazard

Sound could be disseminated in many forms. Whispering is one mode of sound emission. Conversation is another mode of the same property. Music is released through sound system.
Sound is noise. There is a pleasant sound as there is unpleasant one. It depends on the nature of its making. The sound of music, when it is contained within limit is pleasant and agreeable to the ear; when it goes out of limit or out of proportion, it breaks the drum of the ear, becoming unbearable. In other words, it should be managed within the allowed range. Otherwise, it would contravene with the tolerance level acceptable to society, which obviously disturbs the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood.
What comes next is obvious. In Europe, particularly, in the Scandinavian countries, anything beyond the acceptable tolerance level becomes an Ombudsman’s issue. If there is noise in a block of flats shared by a group of people, like in our Condominium Residential Quarters, be it by the noise of a barking dog or by musical sound, it turns into a legal issue. The case will then be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman for review.
When things become in excess of the normal practice, people start to question their validity, they become a point of concern as division of opinion becomes the language of communication. This is in all aspects of life.
Down-to-earth examples for this was a recent behavior of one of the famous American Hollywood stars, Richard Ger,edemonstrated during his visit to India, where he is co-sponsor or, perhaps, co-founder of an Aids/HIV prevention Foundation. In a fund raising ceremony, Richard kissed the Bollywood leading star Shappa Shatty in unexpected manner to the Indian audience, although he admitted that there was nothing dramatic in his indulgence which was the American way.
But, what was important to remark at this juncture was the noise or reaction of the audience. The peoples’ noise was justified because it was intended to show the world that the couple’s action was obscene and ‘environmental hazard,’ because it would shade negative impact on the youth and on the standard life behavior of the Indian people.
The drama demonstrated by the couple on stage was beyond the tolerable level of acceptance by the Indian society, which normally believes in decency of contact. So the couple was accused of violating obscenity laws although Richard Gere regretted his action and said that he would apologize for his ‘mis-manner.’
The rationale of this paper is to show that sound and noise become tolerable or intolerable depending on the severity of the issue.
This is particularly telling for the religious organizations whose preachers forget most of the time the limit of their acceptability in preaching a sermon or making a religious address. As all respect the freedom of religions to preach their sermons or doctrines, none will hesitate to agree on the existence of tolerable limit to sound emission. When, the emission any time of the day becomes excessive to the neighborhood and passers- by, what becomes vivid is the hate of the program. In such respect, the preacher will fail to reach his goal of winning peoples’ mind, because, the excess sound will spoil the communication channel.
In the interest of the preachers and the people around alike, the sound level should be regulated. It should be either contained within a big hall or, if the program takes place in the open air, modern personal hearing devices should be distributed to the believers, to respect the right of others to live in serenity, and to do away with the high sound systems that become environmental hazard.