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Too Noisy to Hear Yourself Think?

By James H. O'Keefe, M.D.

This morning I awoke before dawn and went out for a three-mile run on the Kansas prairie. As the sun rose, the only sounds I could hear were the chirping of birds and the wind softly brushing over the tall prairie grass. Under a sky changing from black to blue, the clouds drifted overhead and I breathed the fresh clean air. These are the moments that rejuvenate my mind, invigorate my body, and make me 'just happy to be alive,' to use one of my mother's favorite expressions. Silent stillness can bring energy, inspiration and strength, just as excessive noise can drain your vital force and creativity.

Sometimes we need to seek out refuge from the clatter of modern life. Some people have become habituated to over-stimulation to the point that they feel uncomfortable with silence. You probably know that too much noise can leave you stone deaf, or get you arrested for disturbing the peace, but you might be surprised to learn that chronic high-level noise exposure can also predispose you to a heart attack.

This was the conclusion of a recent study of over 4,000 German patients that evaluated the effects of ever-present irritating noise from industrial plants, construction work, automobile and truck traffic, etc., on the risk of heart attack. The results were based upon the estimated accumulated exposure to noxious noise over a 10-year period of time leading up to the heart attack. Interestingly, the study showed that women exposed to high levels of environmental noise were 50 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack than the women who did not have to endure a deafening clamor on a daily basis. Even men, generally considered the less sensitive gender, still showed a 30 percent increased risk of heart attack when having to live and/or work in a noisy environment.

Multiple studies have documented that chronic, high-level exposure to irritating sounds increases blood pressure and elevates stress hormones. We are learning that these disturbances in the autonomic nervous system play an important role in long-term risk of heart disease. We don't know for sure how much noise it takes to increase cardiovascular risk, and the threshold is likely to differ from one person to the next.

For example, my wife Joan, who grew up as a solitary child in a tranquil home, is especially sensitive to excessive noise and commotion. Her parents were 46 and 48 years old by the time their first and only child was born. Even her extended family is tiny - I kid her that she could have her family reunion in the bathroom of a room at the Holiday Inn. Yet today she lives in a household with four active and noisy children, three dogs who howl at anything that moves, and two cats. TVs blare and music rattles the windowpanes while the doorbells, phones, fax, and beeper ring incessantly. Joan sometimes complains, "I can't hear myself think in all this noise and commotion."

We humans developed as a species in a milieu of relative calm. The soothing voices of nature in the form of singing birds and the whispering winds provided most of the background sound in the environment of humans until the relatively recent blossoming of the highly mechanized modern world. Dr. Gregg Jacobs believes, "The hyper-stimulation of the modern world threatens our health and well-being by depriving us of the calm and tranquility that is our evolutionary birthright."

Silence and solitude are essential elements of our life, and just like omega-3 fats or folic acid - if we do not get our minimum requirement of them on a regular basis it is difficult to stay physically and emotionally healthy. Author Jon Gordon in "The Energy Addict," writes about embracing the energy of silence: "Perhaps it can be said that it is the silence between the noise of the world that makes our life worth living. Sirens, cars, horns, construction, radios, television, and people all contribute to the constant noise that fills our ears and minds with a bombardment of stimuli. Within the silence sits the energy to recharge our batteries - to refuel our tired lives and help us create. All we have to do is tap it."

Silence and solitude provide the fertile soil that spawns ideas, insights and inspiration. The greatest discoveries in science and masterpieces of art were generally inspired by moments of silent reflection. A quiet and calm environment allows the mind to wander and enhances imagination and problem solving. Occasional solitude can improve our ability to cope with stress, and can also be a wellspring of self-discovery, spirituality and ingenuity. Numbed by noise and distracted by multi-tasking, many people have lost touch with their inner selves. Americans have become addicted to a barrage of meaningless banter and insignificant images, all of which are largely irrelevant, forgettable and disposable. After years of living in a state of constant commotion, the prospect of solitude and silence can be almost threatening. It is as though we become afraid of what we might discover if we relax long enough to experience our own existence as something other than a blur, so we quicken the pace and crank up the volume.

Even a few minutes of peace can be uplifting in certain settings. Sometimes an hour or two after putting the kids to bed, I steal upstairs to make sure they are comfortable and safe. To me, there is nothing more heart-warming and reassuring than the sight of Kathleen, Caroline, and Evan peacefully sleeping (maybe because this is virtually the only time they are quiet). They breathe deeply and softly as they dream with their entire lives ahead of them. As I gently tuck in their blankets and kiss each one on the cheek, everything seems right with the world, if only for those few moments. I might add that this doesn't seem to apply to teenagers. For instance, Jimmy, now a senior, is never in bed before we are. In fact, he frequently awakens us about midnight to negotiate for an extension of his usual 12 a.m. curfew, which doesn't typically elicit in us the same sense of calm reassurance.

© 2005, Cardiovascular Consultants.

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