Sound Sense of Silence

How much hearing loss will it take for India to wake up to its noise problem?

A town crier? In 2026?

That was my first question when I read that Canberra’s official town crier had just set a Guinness World Record for the loudest human voice. Joseph McGrail-Bateup shouted the word “NOW!” at an incredible 122.4 decibels. That’s loud enough to damage hearing. For comparison, busy Indian traffic can be around 100 decibels.

But what is a town crier? Long ago, before newspapers, radio, and the internet, town criers would walk through streets shouting out important news. Today, McGrail-Bateup works as an air-conditioner cleaner and serves as Canberra’s part-time town crier during special events. He is also part of a club that keeps this old tradition alive.

Even more amazing, he broke the record of an Irish schoolteacher who, in 1994, shouted the word “QUIET!” at 121.7 decibels.

Imagine being in her classroom! One moment you’re chatting with your friends. The next moment your teacher unleashes a world-record yell. The silence afterwards must have been spectacular.

Which brings us to an interesting question: can silence be measured?

Noise is easy to measure. We use decibels. But silence is much harder to define. A forest isn’t silent. You can hear birds singing and leaves rustling. Yet it feels peaceful. A waterfall can be quite loud, but many people find it relaxing. A diesel generator may be just as loud, but most people find it annoying.

That’s because silence is not just the absence of sound. It is often the absence of unwanted sound.

This matters for India. We are surrounded by traffic, construction work, loudspeakers, horns, and city noise. Many people think of noise as a small problem, but it can slowly damage hearing over time.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 6 crore Indians have hearing problems. Yet we rarely talk about noise pollution as a health issue.

India has a long tradition of searching for inner peace and silence. But perhaps we should also pay attention to the noise outside us. If the world-record teacher can shout “QUIET!” and the town crier can yell “NOW!”, maybe they are trying to tell us something.

It’s time to listen.

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