Almost half of Orihuela residents kept up at night over noise

IN Orihuela, 45 per cent of inhabitants have trouble sleeping because of noise pollution, a study by hearing centre Gaes shows.

Spain is country with the second highest noise levels, behind Japan, according to A World Health Organisation report. Some 87 per cent of the population feel that they live in a noisy country and 90 per cent say that nothing is done to avoid the situation.

Noise pollution is the second leading cause of illness for environmental reasons worldwide, according to a report by the World Health Organization.

Exposure to excessive noise can cause numerous health problems ranging from insomnia, headaches, stress, hypertension, fatigue or an increased cardiovascular risk, and especially can affect ones hearing.

Being surrounded by sounds that exceed recommended limits can damage our ears to the extent that hearing is lost.

Gaes has launched a campaign to help raise awareness of the detrimental effect on health high levels of noise can cause.

Until tomorrow (Friday), anybody who would like to test to see if noise pollution is affecting their health can do so at any Gaes centre, and even denounce the source of the noise.