By Johnny Coomansingh
Trinidad is now a very noisy place! I don’t know about the noise situation in the sister isle, Tobago or any other Caribbean state. This ‘noise pollution’ in Trinidad could be compared to “Houston we have a problem.” To address this egregious problem, an organization was formed with the express intent to combat this dilemma. With an active membership of 3,500 members, Citizens Against Noise Pollution In Trinidad and Tobago (CANPTT) continues to grow.
There are times when we are faced with circumstances beyond our control. In this particular case, I came to live adjacent to the Sforzata Steel Orchestra a huge steelpan ensemble that was located at the corner of the Eastern Main Road and Warren Street, St Augustine. I was overjoyed when I learnt that I was granted a lease for an apartment in Saint Augustine. My wife moved from Sangre Grande to be closer to her college. At that time she was reading for her two-year teacher training diploma at the Caribbean Union College in the Maracas Valley. She was indeed very happy to have had this place since it was easier to travel to and from the school. What she did not expect was the noise.
Everything was somewhat quiet during the last few months of the year. Classes would start around the end of September or early October. She had the privilege of studying without any noise until the steelpan practice sessions commenced. The Trinidad Carnival season which occurs somewhere in February or March was around the corner and this included the Steelpan Panorama Competition. During the daytime, some of the players of the steelpans could be heard practising on their individual pans but this aspect really did not disturb anyone. Nevertheless, the night would come and pan players from all walks of life would meet for rehearsals, and that’s where the noise began to hurt.
There were times when the front glass doors and louvres of our apartment would rattle because of the sound energy that emerged from 200 or more steelpans. The students in the house had to work under severe conditions. The noise persisted sometimes up to 2:00 am! Sleeping hours and good rest were curtailed. It was immense pressure on the nervous system. Life became miserable for the lack of good restful sleep. The fear of noisy nights remained until the Panorama Competition culminated with the grand finale at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. There was ‘peace in the valley’ once more.
How we managed was a sheer miracle. Many times I wanted to scream but I had to keep my cool. There was a student in the house who suffered maybe more than I did. The high school where I taught was way up in Sangre Grande. Travelling to work in a half-sleepy state was part of my experience with the torment of steelpan noise. When my wife graduated, we left that apartment and returned to Sangre Grande. Did the noise stop?
The steelpan situation was a temporary occurrence. Later down in life, something happened on the landscape of Trinidad. I don’t know what was the reason but I could attempt an explanation for another type of noise; the noise emanating from vehicles that pass on our streets. The noise was not simply the revving of engines, the screeching of wheels or the expulsion from mufflers. Your guess is as good as mine as to why drivers would install huge boom boxes and extremely powerful amplifiers in their vehicles to dispel the peace of a village street by day and by night. It could be that many young vehicle owners had much more disposable income to purchase their sound systems to sustain noise in the community.
I am tired of hearing extremely loud nonsensical ‘songs’ carrying messages that the man in the street cannot understand. I am tired of the noise that disturbs my sleep in the wee hours of the morning when some lunatic drives past on the main road with a booming sound that rattles my windows. I am tired of being powerless to stop such disturbances orchestrated by people who probably want to make a statement. Why do I have to be subjected to the philosophy of selfish noisemakers who are bent on making me and others uncomfortable? It’s like such people lack the understanding, concern and consideration for senior citizens, babies, and sick people around.
O, and then there were the ever present indiscreet motorcycle boys who would pass with an eardrum piercing noise at all hours of the day and night. I was extremely sick with a condition known as trigeminal neuralgia and the noise horribly affected me. I wished I had some way of making them stop. All I could have done was to pray and beg the almighty to ease up on the noise. Suddenly, the motorbikes were no more. Subsequently, someone explained to me the demise of the riders. They crashed somewhere and died. Rejoicing at the death of someone else is not my style. However, nature knew how much discomfort I could have borne. These riders did not care about what they did and whom they were hurting. It’s possible that they did not have a clue about the harm that they caused with their disturbing noise on that strip of road.
Noise, in general, refers to unwanted sound or disturbances that can be unpleasant, disruptive, or harmful. While all sounds are vibrations, noise is perceived as undesirable and can have negative impacts on physical and mental well-being. Nevertheless, Noise is subjective; what one person considers noise, another may not. It’s similar to what Trinis believe: “What is one man’s poison is another man’s food.”
Noise is a sound that is unwanted, annoying, or disturbing to the listener. In terms of its physical and psychological effects, noise and sound are both vibrations, but the difference lies in how the brain perceives and interprets them. Acoustic noise is any sound, whether intended or unintended, that is perceived as undesirable. It is alleged that a woman killed a man in Trinidad because of a noisy fan. The article: “Fight over fan ends in fatal stabbing” published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian newspaper (May 28, 2025) stated:
“An alcohol-fueled argument over a noisy fan led to a violent outburst in which a female relative fatally stabbed 33-year-old Kerron Phillip at his Claxton Bay home early yesterday morning. Phillip, a mason…was stabbed once in the abdomen with a knife, police said.
National Geographic in its article written for Grades four and five indicated that noise pollution was regarded as an invisible danger. “It cannot be seen, but it is present nonetheless, both on land and under the sea. Noise pollution is considered to be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans and other organisms.” The article added:
“Noise pollution impacts millions of people on a daily basis. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children. Many children who live near noisy airports or streets have been found to suffer from stress and other problems, such as impairments in memory, attention level, and reading skill.
“Noise pollution also impacts the health and well-being of wildlife. Studies have shown that loud noises can cause caterpillars’ dorsal vessels (the insect equivalent of a heart) to beat faster, and cause bluebirds to have fewer chicks. Animals use sound for a variety of reasons, including to navigate, find food, attract mates, and avoid predators. Noise pollution makes it difficult for them to accomplish these tasks, which affects their ability survive.
“Increasing noise is not only affecting animals on land, it is also a growing problem for those that live in the ocean. Ships, oil drills, sonar devices, and seismic tests have made the once tranquil marine environment loud and chaotic. Whales and dolphins are particularly impacted by noise pollution. These marine mammals rely on echolocation to communicate, navigate, feed, and find mates, and excess noise interferes with their ability to effectively echolocate.”
Noise sometimes has deleterious effects on people and animals and possibly, even plants. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), unwanted noise can result in physical health issues such as hearing damage, sleep disturbances, sleep deprivation, and cardiovascular problems. It can also negatively impact mental health, causing stress, anxiety, and reduced concentration. In synch with what CANPTT is doing, certain members have posted comments on Facebook concerning noise pollution in Trinidad. Below are a few examples using their first names:
Khalid made it pellucidly clear in his statement: “People who knowingly and unjustly violate the peace and well-being of others with their indiscriminate noise pollution, are no different from those who commit rape, assault, battery or murder. That’s because each instance involves stealing the physical, emotional, mental, physiological, and social health of another human being. It’s the same heartless, unsympathetic and cruel archetype of perpetrators, who derive pleasure and selfish benefit from the agony, ‘sufferation,’ trauma and affliction of others.
We need to recognize them as such and call them out accordingly when publicly highlighting our plight, especially when there’s just no reasoning with them. There’s simply no way to sugarcoat this.” Ann-Marie added: “It is a form of social rape where the intimacy of one’s home is violently violated without consent. It is a manifestation of a bully culture.”
Shelly-Ann in her post treated noise as an epidemic in Trinidad: “We need to start treating loud bass and loud sounds such a resonating music from bars, cars and homes, even mobile advertising announcements as a danger to people just as second-hand smoking is treated…heavy bass reverberates through walls and air waves and is extremely hazardous to our bodies. It triggers such traumatic responses that we were not built for over prolonged exposure. We need to make a change to protect those who want to protect their physical, and mental health. Why can’t people understand the dangers of this epidemic?
Why can’t they see (feel) the damage it is doing? This country has escalated in a short space of time to becoming one of the loudest countries in the world! In support of Shelly-Ann, Ricky held the view: “Everything is so true, any side we turn some a*s always with noise…bass, no peace and quiet.”
Concerning the newly installed government, Mahadeo quipped: “It’s just about one month since the new administration is in office. It is about time that we ask them to make good on their election promise.” In the same vein, Daniel observed: “I have listened to the past three post cabinet press conferences and was quite disappointed in not hearing one comment on the proposed action to be taken against Noise Pollution. I also find it quite strange that no press reporter raised a question on this matter.”
As a member of CANPTT, I interjected: “NOISE is NOISE and when citizens are affected by NOISE it is unacceptable! We will not relent! The NOISE must stop!” And to quote Alfred Lord Tennyson in our resolve to put an end to Noise Pollution in Trinidad: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
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