Noisy MRTS can cause deafness

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Passengers who travel by MRTS trains between Chennai Beach and Velachery may get affected by noise-induced loss of hearing and giddiness. Surprised? The jarring sound that arises when the brakes are applied creates alarming levels of noise and that can affect your eardrums, say doctors.
The popular transit route caters to about 90,000 passengers per day.

Regular passengers say they suffer headache due to the noise created by the trains. “The noise can be heard even if you shut your ears tightly,” complained A.K. Divakar, a media sciences student.
Doctors in the city say prolonged exposure to such noise is likely to cause irreparable damage to the eardrums. “If we are exposed to high decibel noise, it results in headaches and hypertension,” said senior ENT surgeon Mohan Kameswaran.

Another ENT specialist in the city, Dr K. Bala Kumar, said, “People exposed to such loud noise may suffer from loss of hearing in the long run and people may also get affected by problems like noise-induced giddiness.”

Attributing noise-induced loss of hearing to psychological disturbance, psychiatrist M. Lalitha said, “Loud noise is hazardous as it make s people restless and in the long run it may lead to depression.”
Railway authorities said they will take all efforts to the check the problem and that they were already conducting regular maintenance of trains. “The problem is due to wear and tear of wheels,” said an official.

However, a pilot of a train said the problem could be due to worn out brakes and lack of lubrication in the system.