Adolescent Students' Distress and Noise Exposure in Classrooms near an Industrial Area

Background: Classroom noise has been found to have a wide range of detrimental consequences on children's academic performance, including difficulty with concentration and memory. There has been little research on noise annoyance in children, compared to adult noise annoyance. Noise is a public health issue that causes annoyance and has an impact on children's health. Children are more prone to exposure to noise. Objective: To assess the relationship between classroom noise exposure and the annoyance of secondary school students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving both male and female secondary school students from classes VIII through X. Respondents were selected by convenience sampling technique from Mawna Multilateral High School, Gazipur. To collect data from respondents, used a semi-structured questionnaire and a face-to-face interview and study tools include a calibrated smart phone (Android) app and a checklist. Results: The mean age of 422 respondents was 14.76 (±1.007) years. The ages of the respondents were between 13 to 16 years. Most (30.6%) were 14 years of age, (29.9%) were 16 years of age, (28.0%) were 15 years of age and the rest of them (11.6%) were 13 years of age. Among the respondents, 35.3 % were taken from class VIII, 41.5% from class IX and 23.2% from class X. Among them, 50.95% were male and the rest 49.05% were female. Most of them 93.36% were Muslims and 6.64% were Hindus. The family income of the respondents ranged from 5000 Taka to 105000 Taka and their mean income was 30318.72(± 20732.225) Taka. The Bangladesh Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006 state that the standard level of noise in mixed areas is between 50 and 60 dB. Based on the mean of these weekly average noise levels, which was 87.6 dB, it may be concluded that the selected school's classroom was noisy. Conclusion: This research may help to improve secondary school students' academic performance and establish a happy learning environment. Benefits include providing parents and school administrators with relevant information about how classroom noise affects student health and academic performance, as well as how it annoys secondary school students.