IELTS Speaking – Tiếng ồn

It's fairly noisy, to be honest. I live on a street with lots of small shops and street-food stalls, so there's constant chatter and the sound of motorbikes from early morning until late at night. I've got used to it over the years, though, and on the plus side, it never feels lonely or unsafe.

Definitely construction noise, especially drilling. There's something about that high-pitched sound that goes right through me, and it's impossible to concentrate. I'm also irritated by people playing videos on their phones without headphones in public places, like on the bus. It just seems inconsiderate.

I actually prefer a little background noise. Complete silence makes me restless, and I notice every tiny sound. So I often study in a café or put on instrumental music at a low volume. The only exception is when I'm doing something really demanding, like a practice exam, when I need total quiet.

Only once. A neighbour was holding karaoke sessions until almost midnight several nights in a row, right before my exams. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I knocked on their door and politely explained the situation. They were quite apologetic, and they agreed to finish by ten, which was a reasonable compromise.

The noisiest place I've ever been to is a huge wholesale market in the centre of my city which I visited about a year ago. My aunt runs a small clothes shop and buys stock there, and I tagged along to help her carry things. We arrived around five a.m., and even at that hour, the place was absolutely packed. The noise came from several sources at once. Hundreds of traders were shouting prices at each other, porters were pushing heavy carts and yelling at people to get out of the way, and motorbikes loaded with bags were squeezing through narrow lanes, beeping their horns constantly. On top of that, some stalls had loudspeakers playing recorded advertisements on a loop. It was so loud that I had to repeat everything twice just to have a conversation with my aunt. My feelings about it were quite mixed. At first, I found it overwhelming, and after about an hour I had a slight headache. But at the same time, it was fascinating to see how efficient everything was beneath the chaos; my aunt bargained like a professional. By the time we left, I had a new respect for people who work in that environment every day, although I was very relieved to get back to the relative quiet of the street outside.

The main driver is growth. As urban populations increase, there are more vehicles on the roads, more construction projects and more businesses packed into the same space. Many cities are also becoming twenty-four-hour places, with deliveries, bars and entertainment running late into the night. In Vietnam specifically, the sheer number of motorbikes, combined with a habit of using horns frequently, adds a lot to the background noise. Unless planning improves, I think the problem will get worse.

The effects are more serious than many people realise. In the short term, constant noise causes stress, headaches and difficulty concentrating. Over longer periods, it can disrupt sleep, and poor sleep is linked to problems like high blood pressure and heart disease. People exposed to very loud noise at work, such as factory or construction workers, can also suffer permanent hearing damage. There's also evidence that children who study near busy roads or airports perform worse at reading.

There are several practical steps. First, they could enforce limits on when construction work is allowed, for example banning it at night and early in the morning. Second, city planners can keep residential zones away from highways and industrial areas, or build sound barriers and plant trees along busy roads. Fines for excessive horn use and loud karaoke late at night would also help. Finally, investing in electric buses and motorbikes would gradually make streets quieter.

Generally, I think they are. Young people tend to enjoy lively environments like concerts, clubs and crowded cafés, and many of them are used to having music in their ears all day. Older people, on the other hand, often value peace and quiet more, partly because they may sleep more lightly. That said, it's more about lifestyle than age; I know some teenagers who hate crowds and some grandparents who love a noisy family gathering.