Horns hooting, bells clanging, people arguing. If the Maltese racket makes you sometimes feel like you are living in the noisiest place on earth, do not blame yourself, because you are... almost.

A report issued earlier this year by the European Environment Agency says noisy areas extend to 90 per cent of Malta, making the island one of the most rowdy places to live in the EU.

The EU’s threshold for din is 55 decibels, exposure to anything beyond that can have adverse health effects. Even quiet areas in Malta are not free from cacophony, according to the Noise in Europe 2014 report.

Armed with a sound level meter, Times of Malta set off to check the noise decibels in spots where people normally go to relax.

To put noise in a context: 35 decibels (dB) is the sound of a whisper. A washing machine records a noise level of 65dB, vacuuming will give you readings of 65dB, a flushing toilet is 80dB and a jet engine goes at 130dB.

The first stop is Mdina: the Silent City.

People exposed to sound levels at, or above, 85dB must be provided with hearing protection

On a Tuesday morning, at 11.30, the city is anything but silent. The noise levels at the main gate – there is passing traffic in adjacent Rabat and buses stalling right in front of the entrance – register 65dB.

The European Commission estimates that noise from traffic costs EU countries about €40 billion a year due to a slump in the price of property close to noisy roads, lower productivity at work and medical bills.

And so on to the Ta’ Qali national park.

On a weekday at midday, the sound levels were a very encouraging 37dB. But the same location and the same time on a Sunday give a different reading. As families squeezed next to each other on picnic benches, parents called out their children’s names and men played with their remote-controlled toy cars, the sound level shot up to 70dB.

[attach id=414949 size="medium"]The Silent City of Mdina fails to live up to its name.[/attach]

According to the European agency report, even the Natura 2000 protected sites are not free from the cacophony.

“In small countries like Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta the share of quiet areas is very low and noisy areas represent a significant portion of the protected areas,” the report says.

In the Girgenti area – a Natura 2000 site – where the only noise comes from the squelching Wellington boots, the twittering birds and the rustle of the grass, the sound levels hit 35dB.

But the peace and quiet does not last forever; within minutes the uninterrupted barking din of a dog on a mission (106dB) starts inching closer.

A walk in the Bin Ġemma area registers happy noise levels of 38dB, until a tractor in a field comes driving past and the levels shoot up to 85dB.

Which other locations do Maltese frequent in their downtime moments? The Kitchen Garden, next to San Anton, registers anything between 40 and 65dB; a coffee shop in Naxxar is a pleasant 50dB, until, at one point, a screaming baby sends levels up to 95dB.

Incidentally, according to the EU Noise Directive, people exposed to sound levels at, or above, 85dB must be provided with hearing protection.

The airport is also a favourite weekend outing place for the Maltese.

According to the agency report, airports, together with road traffic and railways, are the main source of noise in Europe. This means that as we stroll up and down the airport ‘promenade’, from the Arrivals to the Departures, we are exposing ourselves to jet engines screeching at 130dB as airliners take off.

The final stop was the Chinese garden, in Santa Luċija – the aptly called Garden of Serenity. Surely this would live up to its name!

On a quiet Saturday afternoon the garden registers levels of 45 to 50dB.

On weekday mornings, with the traffic driving past on the adjacent main road, the noise level rises to 75dB.

The sound of silence on the island is impossibly elusive.

The harmful ways of noise

• In Europe, harmful levels of road traffic noise affect one in four people. The health risks from such noise range from sleepless nights to heart disease.

• More than 125 million Europeans could be exposed to levels of road traffic noise above legal guidelines, causing up to 10,000 premature deaths each year.

• Environmental noise is linked to 43,000 hospital admissions, 900,000 cases of hypertension and up to 10,000 premature deaths per year in Europe, according to the agency.

• Overall, noise affects the well-being of exposed human populations, children’s ability to learn and the health and distribution of wildlife on land and at sea.

Making the right noises

The World Health Organisation says noise is an underestimated threat.

In June 2002, the European Parliament and Council adopted the Environmental Noise Directive.

It obliges member states to monitor the problem and draw up “strategic noise maps” to assess the number of people annoyed and sleep disturbed.

Member states are also required to inform and consult the public about noise exposure, its effects and the measures considered to address noise.