On the Temporal Stability of People's Annoyance with Road Traffic Noise

Transportation Noise Pollution and Cardiovascular Health

Epidemiological studies have found that transportation noise increases the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with solid evidence for ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. According to the World Health Organization, at least 1.6 million healthy life years are lost annually from traffic-related noise in Western Europe. Traffic noise at night causes fragmentation and shortening of sleep, elevation of stress hormone levels, and increased oxidative stress in the vasculature and the brain. These factors can promote vascular (endothelial) dysfunction, inflammation, and arterial hypertension, thus elevating cardiovascular risk. The present review focusses on the indirect, nonauditory cardiovascular health effects of noise. We provide an updated overview of epidemiological research on the effects of transportation noise on cardiovascular risk factors and disease, and mechanistic insights based on the latest clinical and experimental studies and propose new risk markers to address noise-induced cardiovascular effects in the general population. We will discuss the potential effects of noise on vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation in humans and animals. We will elaborately explain the underlying pathomechanisms by alterations of gene networks, epigenetic pathways, circadian rhythm, signal transduction along the neuronal-cardiovascular axis, and metabolism. We will describe current and future noise mitigation strategies. Finally, we will conduct an overall evaluation of the status of the current evidence of noise as a significant cardiovascular risk factor.

Measuring Community Response to Noise-Factors Affecting the Results of Annoyance Surveys

Social surveys are conducted to determine how annoyed people are in a certain noise situation. The results are typically presented as exposure-response curves showing the percentage of the area population that are highly annoyed as a function of the noise exposure level. It is a well-known fact that the survey results are not only dependent on the accumulated noise exposure, DNL, DENL, or similar, but also on various other factors such as maximum levels, exposure patterns, noise spectra, etc. A re-analysis of previously reported surveys shows that the results are also, to a large extent, dependent on survey-specific factors like the wording of the annoyance questions, how the questionnaires are presented, response scales, methods of scoring highly annoyed, etc. This paper discusses and quantifies the influence of such factors and suggests ways of comparing results from surveys that have been conducted according to different protocols and different analysis methods.

Pathways to Environmental Inequality: How Urban Traffic Noise Annoyance Varies across Socioeconomic Subgroups

The article investigates how socioeconomic background affects noise annoyance caused by residential road traffic in urban areas. It is argued that the effects of socioeconomic variables (migration background, education, and income) on noise annoyance tend to be underestimated because these effects are mainly indirect. We specify three indirect pathways. (1) A "noise exposure path" assumes that less privileged households are exposed to a higher level of noise and therefore experience stronger annoyance. (2) A "housing attributes path" argues that less privileged households can shield themselves less effectively from noise due to unfavorable housing conditions and that this contributes to annoyance. (3) Conversely, an "environmental susceptibility path" proposes that less privileged people are less concerned about the environment and have a lower noise sensitivity, and that this reduces their noise annoyance. Our analyses rest on a study carried out in four European cities (Mainz and Hanover in Germany, Bern and Zurich in Switzerland), and the results support the empirical validity of the three indirect pathways.

Annoyance due to residential road traffic and aircraft noise: Empirical evidence from two European cities

Based on a study in two European cities, Mainz in Germany and Zurich in Switzerland, the article investigates both acoustical and non-acoustical factors affecting indoor annoyance due to residential road traffic and aircraft noise. We specifically focus on three factors: (1) the role of windows as a feature of the building where people live; (2) the role of individual environmental concern as a general attitude; and (3) the role of household income as an indicator of socioeconomic resources. Empirical results show that closed windows in general and closed high-quality windows in particular are an important barrier against outdoor road traffic and aircraft noise, as well as a helpful subjective coping tool against corresponding annoyances. Environmental concern, too, proves to be a significant predictor of noise annoyance. Environmentally highly concerned people articulate feelings of annoyance more often than environmentally less concerned ones. As expected income is negatively related to road traffic noise annoyance. However, we find a positive association of income with annoyance from aircraft noise. Although objective exposure to aircraft noise is lower for high-income households, they feel stronger annoyed by noise from airplanes. Income shows various indirect effects on noise annoyance. A comparative analysis of road traffic and aircraft noise annoyance yields similarities, but also remarkable differences in terms of their influence factors.

A comparison of self-reported health status and perceptual responses toward environmental noise in rural, suburban, and urban regions in Canada

Health Canada, in collaboration with Advanis, conducted the Canadian Perspectives on Environmental Noise Survey (CPENS) to investigate expectations and attitudes toward environmental noise in rural and non-rural Canada. The CPENS, a 26-item questionnaire, was completed online by 6647 randomly selected Canadians, age 18 y and older between April and May 2021. The prevalence of reporting their area as often or always calm, quiet, and relaxing was 76.8%, 64%, and 48.4% in rural/remote, suburban, and urban, respectively. A high expectation of quiet was less prevalent yet followed the same pattern: rural/remote (58.2%), suburban (37.4%), and urban (21.8%). Self-reported health status and noise sensitivity were unrelated to geographic region. A high magnitude of non-specific sleep disturbance over the previous 12 months was reported by 7.8% overall; highest among urban dwellers (9.8%), followed by suburban (7.2%) and rural/remote (5.5%) dwellers (p < 0.01). High annoyance toward road traffic noise was 8.5% overall, and significantly higher in urban (10.5%), relative to suburban (7.9%) and rural/remote (6.6%) areas (p < 0.0001). Annoyance toward noise from rail, aircraft, mining, industry, marine activity, construction, wind turbines, and landscaping equipment is reported. The analysis also explores potential differences between Indigenous Peoples of Canada and non-Indigenous Canadians in their attitudes and expectations toward environmental noise.

Assessing community noise annoyance: A review of two decades of the international technical specification ISO/TS 15666:2003

The robust assessment of noise annoyance is of key importance given that it is the most prevalent community response in populations exposed to environmental noise. In 1993, the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise Community Response to Noise team began formalizing a standardized methodology for assessing noise annoyance which resulted in reporting guidelines and recommendations later published as a Technical Specification (TS) in 2003 by the International Standards Organization (ISO) [(2003). ISO/TS 15666]. This TS, intended to inform the international community on the quantification of the exposure-response relationship between noise exposure and annoyance, has been in circulation for nearly two decades and was updated in 2021 by ISO [(2021). ISO/TS 15666] by an international working group (ISO TC43/SC1/WG62). This paper reviews use of the 2003 TS, identifies common adaptations in use, and summarizes the revisions. Methodological issues arising from the use of the 5-point verbal and the 11-point numeric scale questions and the scoring of "highly annoyed" are discussed. The revisions are designed to encourage further standardization in noise annoyance research. The paper highlights research needs that, if addressed, would strengthen the methodology underlying the assessment of noise annoyance including multidimensional assessments of annoyance.

How Does a Community Respond to Changes in Aircraft Noise? A Comparison of Two Surveys Conducted 11 Years Apart in Ho Chi Minh City

There have been many arguments about findings of an increase in noise annoyance over time and a recommendation of stricter limits on aircraft noise levels to protect the health of residents around airports. It is crucial to examine if the established exposure–response relationship is suitable for designing future aircraft noise regulations. This study was focused on identifying changes in response to noise over time by comparing community responses from two surveys conducted in 2008 and 2019 at Tân Sơn Nhất (TSN) international airport. Annoyance was found to significantly reduce in 2019 compared to 2008; however, changes in sleep quality were relatively small. Unexpectedly, a gradual increase in the annoyance due to aircraft noise was not found. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated that differences in the reaction of the residents to noise in the two studies were significantly attributed to nonacoustic factors. Noise sensitivity and dissatisfaction with the living environment (e.g., inconvenience in accessing workplace) considerably affect noise annoyance, whereas noise sensitivity, age, and dissatisfaction with the green environment of living areas affect sleep quality. These findings suggest the fulfillment of desired living environment as effective measures for mitigating noise impacts on residents in the vicinity of busy airports.