Abstract
Introduction: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a recognized concern within the context of occupational
and general health. However, noise levels are seldom studied at nonworkplace and nonabode
sites that are visited regularly, e.g., places of worship. The purpose of this study
was to assess the noise levels inside and outside of mosque prayer rooms and to compare
the levels with established noise tolerance limits. Materials and Methods : A portable digital sound level meter was used to determine the noise level (measured
in dB) inside and outside of mosque prayer rooms. The highest (peak) and lowest noise
levels from each recording were tabulated. Statistical analysis was performed using
a two-tailed Student′s t-test(alpha = 0.05). Results : Noise levels were measured at 200 mosque prayer rooms from all 15 municipal districts
of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of these, 151 prayer rooms (75.5%) had both inside and outside
noise measurements and the remaining 49 prayer rooms (24.5%) had only inside noise
measurements. There was significantly greater noise outside compared to inside the
prayer rooms, for both the highest noise level (outside: 87.8 ± 4.8 dB compared to
inside: 85.8 ± 5.4 dB, P < 0.0001) and lowest noise level (outside: 58.4 ± 3.8 dB compared to inside: 56.6
± 3.6 dB, P < 0.00001). In all, 112 of the inside highest level measurements (56%) and 113 of
the outside highest level measurements (74.8%) were greater than 85 dB, the sound
level at which NIHL has been shown to occur in occupational settings. Conclusion :
A large proportion (56%) of mosque prayer rooms with inside peak noise measurements
were above acceptable levels (85 dB), however, prayers certainly do not last for 8
continuous hours. Therefore, the level of noise at mosques is acceptable and in compliance
with international norms of hearing safety; moreover, it does not present any risk
to hearing in the long run.
Keywords
Acoustics - hearing loss - mosque - noise - Riyadh - Saudi Arabia
