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噪音對健康的危害！
Do you hear that? Do you know what that is?Silence.The sound of silence.
你們聽到那聲音了嗎？你們知道那是什麼聲音嗎？寂靜。寂靜的聲音。
Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about it.But silence is a pretty rare commodity these days,and we're all paying a price for it in terms of our health --a surprisingly big price, as it turns out.
賽門與葛芬柯以它為主題寫了一首歌。但現今，寂靜非常稀有，我們也都要為此付出健康方面的代價，結果發現，這個代價大得驚人。
Luckily, there are things we can do right now,both individually and as a society,to better protect our health，and give us more of the benefits of the sounds of silence.I assume that most of you know that too much noise is bad for your hearing.
幸運的是，有一些行動是我們現在就可以採取的，包括個人的行動和社會的行動，來把我們的健康保護得更好，讓我們從寂靜的聲音得到更多的益處。我猜想大部分人都知道，太多噪音對你的聽覺有害。
Whenever you leave a concert or a bar and you have that ringing in your ears,you can be certain that you have done some damage to your hearing,likely permanent.And that's very important.
若你離開音樂會或是酒吧時，耳朵會聽見鳴聲，那就可以確定你的聽力已經受損，且可能是永久性的。那是非常重要的。
However, noise affects our health in many different ways beyond hearing.They're less well-known,but they're just as dangerous as the auditory effects.So what do we mean when we talk about noise?
然而，除了聽力之外，噪音還會以許多其他的方式影響我們的健康。這些方式比較少人知道，但卻和聽力受影響一樣危險。所以，我們說的「噪音」是什麼意思？
Well, noise is defined as unwanted sound,and as such, both has a physical component, the sound,and a psychological component,the circumstances that make the sound unwanted.
噪音的定義，是不想聽到的聲音，就這定義來說，它有實體的成分，即聲音，也有心理的成分，即讓造成聲音「不想被聽到」的情境。
A very good example is a rock concert.A person attending the rock concert,being exposed to 100 decibels,does not think of the music as noise.This person likes the band, and even paid a hundred dollars for the ticket,so no matter how loud the music,this person doesn't think of it as noise.
一個非常好的例子就是搖滾演唱會，一個人去聽搖滾演唱會，暴露在一百分貝的音量下，他卻不認為這音樂是噪音。這個人喜歡這個樂團，甚至花了一百美金買票，所以不論音樂有多大聲，這個人都不會將之視為噪音。
In contrast, think of a person living three blocks away from the concert hall.That person is trying to read a book,but cannot concentrate because of the music.And although the sound pressure levels are much lower in this situation,this person still thinks of the music as noise,and it may trigger reactions that can, in the long run, have health consequences.
相對的，想想看住家離音樂會場只有三個街區的人。這個人想要看本書，但卻因為音樂而無法專心。雖然在這個情況中，聲音壓力的程度低很多，這個人仍然會認為這音樂是噪音，且從長期來看，它造成的反應，可能會有健康方面的後果。
So why are quiet spaces so important? Because noise affects our health in so many ways beyond hearing.However, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find quiet spaces，in times of constantly increasing traffic,growing urbanization,construction sites,air-conditioning units, leaf blowers, lawnmowers,outdoor concerts and bars,personal music players,and your neighbors partying until 3 am.
所以，為什麼安靜的空間如此重要？因為噪音對我們健康的影響絕對不只是聽力方面而已。然而，要找到安靜的空間越來越困難了，現在的交通流量不斷增加，都市化越來越嚴重，有工地、冷氣機、吹葉機、除草機、戶外音樂會和酒吧、個人的音樂播放裝置，還有你的鄰居家派對開到半夜三點。
Whew!
呼！
In 2011, the World Health Organization estimated that 1.6 million healthy life years are lost every year due to exposure to environmental noise in the Western European member states alone.
2011 年，世界健康組織估計每年會損失一百六十萬年的健康生命，原因就是暴露在環境噪音中，這只是西歐國家的數字。
One important effect of noise is that it disturbs communication.You may have to raise your voice to be understood.In extreme cases, you may even have to pause the conversation.It's also more likely to be misunderstood in a noisy environment.
噪音有一項重大的影響，就是它會打擾溝通，你得要拉高聲音，你說的話才能被聽懂。在極端的情況下，你甚至可能得要暫停對話。在噪音大的環境中，溝通也有可能被誤解。
These are all likely reasons why studies have found that children who attend schools in noisy areas are more likely to lag behind their peers in academic performance.
可能就是因為這些原因，導致許多研究都發現，在噪音地區就學的孩子在學校課業的表現比較有可能會落後同儕。
Another very important health effect of noise is the increased risk for cardiovascular disease in those who are exposed to relevant noise levels for prolonged periods of time.
噪音對健康還有一項非常重要的影響，那就是得到心血管疾病的風險會上升，如果暴露在高強度噪音之下，且持續很長的時間，風險就較高。
Noise is stress,especially if we have little or no control over it.Our body excretes stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that lead to changes in the composition of our blood and in the structure of our blood vessels,which have been shown to be stiffer after a single night of noise exposure.
噪音是種壓力，特別是在我們很難或無法控制它的時候。我們的身體會分泌壓力荷爾蒙，如腎上腺素和可體松，它們會改變我們血液的組成，也會改變我們血管的結構，已經證明暴露在噪音中一個晚上，血管就會變比較僵硬。
Epidemiological studies show associations between the noise exposure and an increased risk for high blood pressure,heart attacks and stroke,and although the overall risk increases are relatively small,this still constitutes a major public health problem，because noise is so ubiquitous,and so many people are exposed to relevant noise levels.
流行病學研究顯示，暴露在噪音下的人會有比較高的風險得到高血壓、心臟病，及中風，雖然整體的風險增加程度相對很小，這仍然會造成重大的公共健康問題，因為噪音無所不在，且好多人都暴露在相當高的噪音之下。
A recent study found that US society could save 3.9 billion dollars each year by lowering environmental noise exposure by five decibels,just by saving costs for treating cardiovascular disease.There are other diseases like cancer, diabetes and obesity that have been linked to noise exposure,but we do not have enough evidence yet to, in fact, conclude that these diseases are caused by the noise.
一篇近期的研究發現，美國社會每年可以省下三十九億美元，只要將環境噪音暴露降低五分貝，省下的心血管疾病治療成本就有這麼多。還有其他的疾病，如癌症、糖尿病，和肥胖，也和噪音暴露有關，但我們尚無足夠的證據能夠下結論說這些疾病其實就是噪音造成的。
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Yet another important effect of noise is sleep disturbance.Sleep is a very active mechanism that recuperates us and prepares us for the next wake period.A quiet bedroom is a cornerstone of what sleep researchers call "a good sleep hygiene."
噪音還有一項重大的影響，就是睡眠幹擾。睡眠是一種非常正面的恢復機制，讓我們為下一個清醒時段做好準備。安靜的臥室可說是基石，被睡眠研究者稱為「好的睡眠衛生」。
And our auditory system has a watchman function.It's constantly monitoring our environment for threats,even while we're sleeping.So noise in the bedroom can cause a delay in the time it takes us to fall asleep,it can wake us up during the night,and it can prevent our blood pressure from going down during the night.
我們的聽覺系統有一種夜間看守的功能。它經常在監控我們的環境有沒有威脅，即使我們睡覺時。所以，臥室中的噪音可能會讓我們延遲進入熟睡。噪音可能會在大半夜吵醒我們，也可能會制止我們的血壓在夜間下降。
We have the hypothesis that if these noise-induced sleep disturbances continue for months and years,then an increased risk for cardiovascular disease is likely the consequence.However, we are often not aware of these noise-induced sleep disturbances,because we are unconscious while we're sleeping.
我們的假設是，如果這些由噪音造成的打擾持續數個月甚至數年，後果可能就是心血管疾病的風險增加。然而，我們通常沒注意到這些由噪音造成的睡眠幹擾，因為我們在睡覺時是沒有意識的。
In the past, we've done studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep,and research subjects would often wake up in the morning and say,"Ah, I had a wonderful night,I fell asleep right away,never really woke up."When we would go back to the physiological signals we had recorded during the night,we would often see numerous awakenings and a severely fragmented sleep structure.
過去，我們已經研究過交通噪音對睡眠的影響，研究受試者通常會在早上起床時說：「啊，昨晚真棒，我幾乎是立即入睡，一覺到天亮。」當我們回去看我們在夜間記錄的生理訊號時，我們通常會發現受試者醒來好幾次，且睡眠結構很明顯是片段式的。
These awakenings were too brief for the subjects to regain consciousness and to remember them during the next morning,but they may nevertheless have a profound impact on how restful our sleep is.So when is loud too loud?
這幾次醒來的時間都太短暫，所以受試者不會恢復意識隔天早上也不會記得有醒來過，但睡眠中途醒來，免不了會深深影響到我們睡眠是否能提供充份的休息。所以，多大聲才是太大聲？
A good sign of too loud is once you start changing your behavior.You may have to raise your voice to be understood,or you increase the volume of your TV.You're avoiding outside areas,or you're closing your window.You're moving your bedroom to the basement of the house,or you even have sound insulation installed.
有個很好的徵兆表示聲音太大：你開始改變你的行為。你可能得要拉高音量來讓對方聽懂你的話，或是你把電視音量轉更大聲。你會避開外圍的區域，或是你會把窗戶關上。你把你的臥室搬到房子的地下室，或是你甚至安裝了隔音牆。
Many people will move away to less noisy areas,but obviously not everybody can afford that.So what can we do right now to improve our sound environment and to better protect our health?
許多人會移動到比較沒有噪音的地方，但顯然不是人人都負擔得起。我們現在能做什麼，來改善我們的聲音環境，把我們的健康保護得更好？
Well, first of all, if something's too loud, speak up.For example, many owners of movie theaters seem to think that only people hard of hearing are still going to the movies.If you complain about the noise and nothing happens,demand a refund and leave.That's the language that managers typically do understand.
首先，遇到太大聲的情況，不要忍氣吞聲不說出來。比如，許多擁有家庭劇院的人似乎都認為只有重聽的人才會去電影院看電影。如果你對噪音提出抗議，卻沒有得到反應，就要求退款並離開。通常，這是經理能聽得懂的語言。
Also, talk to your children about the health effects of noise and that listening to loud music today will have consequences when they're older.You can also move your bedroom to the quiet side of the house,where your own building shields you from road traffic noise.
此外，跟你的孩子談談噪音對健康的影響，讓他們知道今天聽音樂的音量過大會在將來造成後果。你也可以把臥室搬到房子中比較安靜的那一側，讓你自己的大樓替你阻擋道路交通的噪音。
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 neighbors about noise.You can wear noise-canceling headphones when you're traveling or if your office has high background noise levels.In general, seek out quiet spaces,especially on the weekend or when you're on vacation.Allow your system to wind down.
如果你打算要租或買一間新房子，把低噪音列為優先考慮。在一天中幾個不同時刻去看房子，並跟鄰居談談噪音議題。當你在路上時，可以戴上消噪耳機，或者當你的辦公室背景噪音過大時也可以這麼做。平常就要去找安靜的地方，特別是在周末或是休假時。讓你的聽力系統能放鬆一下。
I, very appropriately for this talk,attended a noise conference in Japan four years ago.When I returned to the United States and entered the airport,a wall of sound hit me.This tells you that we don't realize anymore the constant degree of noise pollution we're exposed to and how much we could profit from more quiet spaces.
說一件很適合這場演說的事，我四年前去日本參加一場噪音研討會。當我返回美國並進入機場時，我就像撞上一道音牆。這表示我們已經完全無法發現我們平時就暴露在噪音汙染之中，也不知道若能找到更安靜的地方，能夠有多大的好處。
What else can we do about noise?Well, very much like a carbon footprint,we all have a noise footprint,and there are things we can do to make that noise footprint smaller.For example, don't start mowing your lawn at 7am on a Saturday morning.Your neighbors will thank you.Or use a rake instead of a leaf blower.
關於噪音，我們還能做什麼？和碳足跡很類似，我們也有噪音足跡，我們的確可以採取一些行動，來減少噪音足跡。比如，不要在星期六早上七點就到院子除草。你的鄰居會很感謝你。或者使用草耙來取代吹葉機。
In general, noise reduction at the source 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.Many manufacturers will list the noise levels their devices generate,and some even advertise with them.Use that information.
一般來說，從源頭來減少噪音是最合理的做法，所以，當你要買新車、冷氣機、攪拌機，買任何你能想到的東西時，把低噪音列為優先考慮。許多製造商會在它們銷售的裝置上標示其噪音等級，甚至用這項信息來打廣告。善用這項信息。
Many people think that stronger noise regulation and enforcement are good ideas,even obvious solutions, perhaps,but it's not as easy as you may think,because many of the activities that generate noise also generate revenue.Think about an airport and all the business that is associated with it.
許多人認為，更嚴格的噪音規定和執法是很好的點子，甚至是很明顯的解決方案，也許吧，但並沒有你想的那麼容易，因為許多產生噪音的活動也會產生利潤。想想機場及所有和它相關的業務。
Our research tells politicians at what noise level they can expect a certain health effect,and that helps inform better noise policy.Robert Koch supposedly once said,"One day, mankind will fight noise as relentlessly as cholera and the pest."
我們的研究告訴政治家，噪音到了什麼等級就有可能會對健康有一定的影響，這信息能夠協助他們制訂更好的噪音政策。應該是羅伯柯霍說過：「有一天，人類將會持續對抗噪音，就像對抗霍亂和害蟲一樣。」
I think we're there,and I hope that we will win this fight,and when we do, we can all have a nice, quiet celebration.
我想，這一天已經到了，我希望我們會打贏這場仗，當我們打贏之後，我們可以好好地、安靜地慶祝一下。
Thank you.
謝謝。
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