Sonic doom: how noise pollution kills thousands each year

From heart disease to type 2 diabetes, noise is having dire effects on people's health. So who is most at risk, what can be done about it - and can you protect yourself?Shortly after I sat down to read up on the auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health in the Lancet, the drilling began - an angry, jagged, intermittent frenzy of metal on plaster. Our downstairs neighbours have been refurbishing their flat for the past eight weeks or so, removing ceilings, party walls and any domestic contentment for us upstairs.So, I went to a cafe. The espresso machine and staff training session I could bear. It was the three-year-old running around screaming that finally made me flee. So I went to the library. Remember when the thing about libraries was that you had to zip it? Now they play host to an everlasting Hop Little Bunnies music session. "They're so still ... are they ill ..." Argh! Continue reading...