Singing can be bad
for your health

I guess it's true not just about Dumaguete but of many other places in Negros Oriental, and even in the Philippines. Wherever you go, you're bound to hear the blaring sound of these jukebox-sized karaoke machines.

Biking to Valencia last Sunday, Irma and I counted at least four such machines in operation, which you could hear from quite a distance. The singers, who usually belt out a few songs after a few shots of rhum or whiskey, sing with such gusto that you could literally smell their alcohol-laced breath when you pass by.

The sound may be tolerable if you're just passing through. But I wonder how the people living close by are coping with it.

Over at the Silliman Avenue extension, I'm sure the people living there now are thankful that the tocino vendors living near the ukay-ukay stalls have relocated elsewhere. The residents there used to complain of the karaoke machines of these tocino vendors, which broadcast even to unwilling listeners until sunrise.

There is also that department store in Dumaguete that plays very loud music to people out on the street. I don't know what they hope to achieve with this nuisance. The effect that it has on me is that it drives me away. It turns me off.

The World Health Organization says anything above 70 decibels is noise and you shouldn't be exposed to noise for long periods of time. Noise causes pain and damages hearing. 70 decibels is slightly lower than the sound of a washing machine.

The president of Hearing International, Prof. Suchitra Prasansuk, says noise causes the same effect as stress, which puts people at risk of disease and infection.

The effects of stress are an elevated blood pressure caused by an increased heart rate which, in turn, is brought about by an increase in adrenaline.

I remember there was this City Ordinance requiring night spots with live bands to sound-proof their establishments with airconditioning. Perhaps these karaoke machines should be covered by the same ordinance as well.*

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