I found this article, titled Noise pollution causes infertility and insomnia" by Iqbal Choudhry out of Pakistan.

Officials from the Punjab Evironmental Protection Agency would like to lower noise pollution levels in the city to 75 decibels maximum, from the 91 decibels that they recorded in certain areas of the city.

"Noise is a biological stressor that affects the whole body, raises blood pressure, transforms blood chemistry and imairs hearing," said the Chairperson of the Punjab University's Department of Psychology, Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, while talking to Daily Times on Monday. Dr Kausar said noise is one of the most pervasive pollutants, which also causes insomnia and infertility. She said a person affected by insomnia contracts a variety of behavioural problems such as anxiety, irritability and emotional stress.

I know for a fact that I am a lot more irritable when I am in a noisy environment. Although it seems like my family isn't as sensitive to the noise as I am, I notice that the kids are receptive to outside noise, not the noise that they create and Chris is more receptive to the noise that the kids create, but not to the television, or computer. It all has an effect on me though. When I am home alone, there isn't any noise generators on. I mute the computer, turn off the tv and the music. We do live at a popular side route to our busy cross streets and our house is right on a 4 way stop. When it seems in the afternoon when traffic picks up, I will put on my sound machine to buffer erratic noise.

I knew that my mental stress was directly related to noise, but my physical health as well. This is a new path for me to think about and would make sense. I do believe that all of the body's systems are related, so why not add in auditory stimulus to the mix of staying healthy? I would't think of giving a massage without a noise buffer. I wonder why I hadn't thought of this interaction before, considering my career.

Hmmm.