KARACHI - Noise pollution is not a new term in context and is a type of pollution which is distracting, irritating, or damaging sounds at a high range. sounds are considered noise pollution if they adversely affect wildlife, human activity, or are capable of damaging physical structures on a regular, repeating basis. The prevailing source of artificial noise pollution is from transportation. In rural areas, train and airplane noise can disturb wildlife habits. In urban areas, automobile, motorcycle, and even entertainment noise can cause sleep disruption in humans and animals, hearing loss, heart disease (as a result of stress), and in severe cases even mental instability. Although most developed nations have government agencies responsible for the protection of the environment, no nation has a single body that regulates noise pollution. Transportation noise is usually regulated by the relevant transportation ministry, health-related work noise is often regulated by health ministries and workers unions, and entertainment noise such as loud music is a criminal offense in many areas. Little is currently being done to reduce noise pollution in developed countries. Karachi is one of the worst affected cities due to unchecked and uncontrolled noise pollution. Population growth rate of Karachi is about 3.0 per cent per annum that depicts the annual growth of population at risk while pollution growth is also considerably high. The growing environmental degradation has exerted grave burden on resources, therefore, environmental monitoring has become indispensable. This neglected issue needs a serious attention and continuous surveillance to evaluate the quality regularly. It is generally accepted that the link between excess noise and hearing loss is obvious. But this fact is supported by epidemiological studies that compared the prevalence of hearing loss in different categories of occupations, or in particularly noisy occupations. Although other factors may also contribute to hearing loss, such as exposure to vibrations, ototoxic drugs and some chemicals, the association with noise remains robust after accounting for these influences. According to a survey data, although high levels of noise for short time can lead to noise induced hearing loss early but usually 10 years of exposure is generally required for significant hearing loss to occur. Most of the drivers are driving for 10-12 hours per day (42 per cent) and therefore more they are on roads the more they are exposed to noise pollution. Moreover most of the subjects (62 per cent) are driving for 7 days a week adding to the burden on their ears. 84 per cent of the subjects are aware of the ill effects of excessive noise. It shows the level of health education that most are aware of this health hazard but nearly all of them (96 per cent) are not using any protective measures. There is no doubt that there is excess noise on roads in all major cities in Pakistan. This fact is proven by various studies in all major cities but the problem of noise pollution is also present in many smaller cities, from where no data is available. Prolonged or excessive exposure to noise, whether in community or at work place, can cause permanent medical conditions as hypertension and ischemic heart disease. Noise can adversely affect performance, attentiveness, and memory. On roads or in industry these deficits in performance can lead to accidents. The main social consequence of hearing impairment is the inability to understand speech in normal conditions, which is considered severe social handicap.