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How does unwanted sound effect the physiological and psychological Outline: I) Research Question: a) How does unwanted sound effect the physiological and psychological performance differently than wanted sound? II) Thesis Statement: a) Wanted and unwanted sound have the same physiological effects on the human body but effect its psychological performance differently. III) Introduction: IV) Literature Review: a) The Human Ear b) How sound is heard / perceived by the body V) Development: a) Physiological effects of sound (both wanted and unwanted) b) Psychological effects of sound (both wanted and unwanted) VI) Conclusion: VII) Limitations and/ or improvements a) The need for experimentation VIII) Further questions to be raised: a) Can sound cause abnormal release of hormones b) How can noise pollution be prevented i) Restriction laws ii) Sound absorbers iii) Precautions (like earplugs. etc) IX) Bibliography Research Question: How does unwanted sound effect the physiological and psychological performance differently than wanted sound? Thesis statement: Wanted and unwanted sounds have the same physiological effects on the human body but effect its psychological performance differently. Introduction: Sound is a particular auditory impression perceived by the sense of hearing.
The presence of unwanted sound is called noise pollution. This unwanted sound can seriously damage and effect physiological and psychological health. For instance, noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, and other harmful effects depending on the level of sound, or how loud it is. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to heart problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks. Everything from the sound of an alarm clock in the morning to the sound of an airplane passing by to the sound of your friend screaming at you can cause noise pollution, and leave you effected for a short period, or for the rest of your life. But not all sound is unwanted.
Many people listen to music, and go out to clubs and parties without suffering from any of the negative symptoms of unwanted sound. Many people enjoy playing instruments like the piano or the trumpet. Wanted sound, unlike unwanted sound can relief stress, and relaxation and the calming of a person. However on the physiological aspects, wanted sound can be just as harmful as unwanted sound. There are many misconceptions about sound and hearing, and the greatest misconception is about loud sound not being harmful as long as it is wanted. Literature Review: The human body perceives sound through the sensory organ called the ear.
Humans have two ears, where sound waves enter and transform into signals that can be perceived as hearing. Hearing is a complicated process. Everything that moves makes a sound. Sound consists of vibrations that travel in waves which enter the ear and are changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain.
The brain interprets the signals as sounds. Sound is measured in decibels (dB), where zero is the lower limit of audibility, and 130 dB is the pain threshold. A 10 -dB increase equals a doubling in volume: a 75 -dB sound is twice as loud as a 65 -dB sound. Complete quietness is equal to 20 dB of sound.
Since everything that moves makes sound, although some of the sounds are so small that they cannot be perceived by the human body, because the sound waves spread out and become too weak to be heard. The ear can be separated into three sections, the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear is a sound gathering device. The shape allows it to capture sound and funnel it into the ear. The outer ear also serves to protect the ear from dust and other particles from entering and causing damage to the auditory organs. The skin on the outer third of the canal has hairs, sweat glands, and glands that produce earwax.
Earwax helps protect the eardrum by trapping dirt that would otherwise lodge against the membrane. Sound is then taken into the middle ear by the auditory canal where the process of hearing begins. The middle ear is a chamber filled with air, which contains an amplifying system composed of three linked bones. These bones are responsible for the mechanical transfer of sound waves. These bones are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup, which is the smallest bone in the body.
The hearing process begins when sounds enter the ear and reach the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. The eardrum is also known as the tympanic membrane, because of its characteristic to vibrate in a beat. The malleus, near the eardrum begins to vibrate in the same rhythm as the eardrum, and by a lever action, transmits the message to the incus. In the same way, the incus transmits the message to the stapes.
The stapes, being so small, fits into a small membranous opening, and relays the vibrations to the inner ear. The footplate of the stapes is attached to a membrane called the oval window, which leads to the inner ear. As the vibrations move from the relatively large eardrum to the minute stapes, the energy behind the vibrations becomes very concentrated, when they are lead into the inner ear. The inner ear is where sound is heard. Movements of the stapes footplate create waves in the fluid that fills the ducts of the cochlea of the inner ear. The cochlea is a bony structure shaped like a snail shell, and contains over 20, 000 hair-like sensory cells.
This structure is the mechanism central to the hearing process. The sound waves enter into the cochlea and through its spiral. Depending on the pitch of the sound waves, they have their effect on different segments of the cochleas sensory keyboard. Sounds that have low frequencies activate the wider more flexible sensory cells at the core of the cochlea, and sound with high frequencies activate the narrow more stiff sensory cells at the place of the cochlea closest to the oval window.
As the sensory cells vibrate as a result of the waves, they generate impulses that are picked up by the auditory nerve, which branches into the cochlear nerve, attached to each of the fibers. The nerve fibers send impulses of the same frequency as that of a particular sound. The intensity of a sound determines how many hair cells are affected and how many impulses the cochlear nerve sends to the brain. For example, loud sounds move a large number of hair cells, and the cochlear nerve transmits many impulses.
The cochlear nerve transmits the impulses to the temporal lobe; the hearing center of the brain, and the brain interprets the impulses as sounds. The signals are heard as a particular sound: a voice, a car passing by, or whatever sound we usually associate with that particular pattern of impulses. It is when the waves are too strong, because of the very high frequencies of sound, or when the frequencies of the sound are very intense, that the hair-like sensory cells become damaged. When sensory cells become damaged, sound frequencies that are usually picked up by them in the cochlea will not be heard, because the damage separates them from the nerve fibers that can transmit the impulses to the brain. How Sound Travels to the Inner Ear How the Ear Changes Sounds Into Nerve Impulses Development: A. ) Physiological effects of sound on the human body Sound has an effect on the ear before it leads to any other symptom. If the sound is load, whether it is coming from a nightclub playing good music, or from an airplane, it sends a wave with the same frequency and intensity into the ear.
An airplane releases sound at a level of about 115 dB. When you enter a nightclub, the intensity of the sound is also 115 dB. Both sound waves will enter the ear at a same speed, and will hit the eardrum to vibrate in the same rhythm, leading to the cochlea at the same intensity, effecting the same area of the sensory keyboard. At such levels, the sensory cells become damaged. Since the waves of sound from the airplane are similar to that of the music, then both will effect the ear in the same way. Damage to the hair cells in the cochlea will cause hearing loss, but if the hair cells are in an abnormal position: due to the great impact of the sound waves, may cause tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a symptom that causes one to have a ringing, whistling or hissing noise in the head. It has no cure, and can come and go, depending on the alignment of the hair cells. The noise in the head can be as loud as a hammer, or as soft as running water. If tinnitus continues, then the body can result in other disorders. Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear marked by periodic attacks of tinnitus. After repeated attacks, the victim may suffer severe hearing loss.
The exact cause of the disease is not known. However, researchers have found that the condition involves an increase in the volume and pressure of the inner ear fluid. The pressure of the fluid damages the hair cells of the cochlea and the vestibular organs. In severe cases of the disease, excess fluid builds up and increases the pressure inside the inner ear. When the pressure inside the ear is not the same as the atmospheric pressure outside, the ear blocks. The eustachian tube is located in the middle ear.
It usually contain an equal pressure to that of the atmosphere outside. But due to sudden pressure changes, the eustachian tube does not have enough time to release air and stabilize the pressures, the ears block and cause temporary hearing loss, until the pressures are equalized. These effects on the ear, and causes of hearing loss are from both wanted and unwanted sound. There is a big misconception among youngsters and adults about sound being effective only if it is unwanted.
Out of 20 students asked about effects of sound, 75 % of them thought that sound could only be harmful if it was not wanted. It is for this reason that many students listen to loud music without hesitation. They enjoy it, not realizing that it will affect them negatively. Wanted sound is as harmful as unwanted sound on the physiological behavior of the human body. B. ) Psychological effects of sound on the human body: After sound is taken in by the ear and is heard, it can affect the body psychologically. This all depends on the attitude towards the sound.
If the sound is wanted, then the attitude towards it is good. However, if the sound is unwanted, then it will be a bother. A person becomes annoyed or aggressive if the sound does not stop, because it is disturbing him, and distracting him from his concentration. It has been studied that a person gets annoyed and aggressive at 55 dB of sound when the sound is unwanted. This intensity of sound is equivalent to that of a loud conversation, or of a passenger car. If the unwanted sound increases above 65 dB of sound, then the amount of stress it forms on the person will cause hypertension, which is high blood pressure.
Sound above 75 dB may cause very high stress levels. It is unwanted sound that causes stress, which is a major psychological effect. Stress is a state of disequilibrium. It is non-specific.
It occurs from anything that happens long enough, strong enough, or often enough Common signs of stress include an increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, muscle tension, mental depression, and an inability to concentrate. Typical reactions include social withdrawal; an increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs; and feelings of helplessness about...
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Research essay sample on Unwanted Sound Effect The Physiological And Psychological
