Recently, I woke up one night to gunshot-like sounds and realised that it was due to festivities for the New Year, 2022, in Dhaka city. Fireworks and flying lanterns lit up the sky all throughout the night. I tried to get some sleep, given my poor health at the time, but failed.

At around 5am, when my flatmates were done celebrating, I began experiencing a whizzing sound in my left ear. Two days later, I left Dhaka and consulted a doctor in my hometown of Rangpur. The ENT specialist diagnosed my problem as tinnitus, a kind of middle ear infection caused by intolerable sound levels. He suggested I stay away from sounds of more than 50 decibels (dB). As this would be impossible to do in Dhaka, I decided to stay in my village for the next couple of months. Sadly, I have discovered that even this quaint area is not free from noise pollution.

Almost every night, teenagers rent high-volume sound boxes or megaphones, playing music at more than 120dB, and disregarding the elderly, sick, and those with other health issues. But these devices are also used for political activities and during election campaigns. The loud and harsh slogans shake up the ground under our feet for hours, and put our health and the environment at risk.

According to the Department of Environment (DoE), the maximum level of sound tolerable to human beings is less than 50dB in residential areas during the day, and 45dB at night. Unfortunately, the average level of sound in almost every city in Bangladesh is much higher, especially in Dhaka city.

Banning the use of loudspeakers in political processions, election campaigns, and social events could tremendously help reduce noise pollution. Traffic police can play a vital role by punishing those who use hydraulic horns unnecessarily. At the same time, parents and teachers should discourage young people from using high-volume music players during recreational activities.