What is noise?

Noise is defined as unwanted sound. But what is unwanted by some may be wanted by others. The ear does not differentiate between noise and sound. That is done by the brain.

A small or moderate amount of noise can be enjoyable or stimulating, while exposure to an excessive amount of noise can cause damage to health and well being.

Noise can affect us in two ways:

1. Annoyance: when you are simply annoyed or irritated by the     noise.
2. Physical damage: when the noise actually damages the    delicate hearing mechanism within the inner ear.

You may not find a noise annoying but it may be sufficiently loud to damage your hearing.

source: Australian Hearing used with kind permission