Traffic noise (road noise, railway noise, aircraft noise, noise of parking cars), is the most dominant source of annoyance in the living environment of many European countries. This is followed by neighbourhood noise (neighbouring apartments, staircase and noise within the apartment). The subjective experience of noise stress can, through central nervous processes, lead to an inadequate neuro-endocrine reaction and finally lead to regulatory diseases. Within the context of the LARES-survey (Large Analysis and Review of European housing and health Status), noise annoyance in the housing environment was collected and evaluated in connection with medically diagnosed illnesses. Adults who indicated chronically severe annoyance by neighbourhood noise were found to have an increased health risk for the cardiovascular system and the movement apparatus, as well as an increased risk of depression and migraine. Furthermore adults with chronically strong annoyance by traffic noise additionally showed an increased risk for respiratory health problems. With regards to older people both neighbourhood and traffic noise indicated in general a lower risk of noise annoyance induced illness than in adults. It can be assumed that the effect of noise-induced annoyance in older people is concealed by physical consequences of age (with a strong increase of illnesses). With children the effects of noise-induced annoyance from traffic, as well as neighbourhood noise, are evident in the respiratory system. The increased risk of illness in the respiratory system in children does not seem to be caused primarily by air pollutants, but rather, as the results for neighbourhood noise demonstrate, by emotional stress.
Traffic noise (road noise, train noise, flight noise, noise of parking cars), is the most dominant source of annoyance in the living environment for many people living in European countries. This is followed by neighbour noise (neighbouring apartments, staircase, playing children and noise within the apartment). The subjective experience of noise stress can, through central nervous processes, lead to an inadequate neuro-endocrine reaction and finally to regulation diseases. Within the context of the WHO-LARES-survey, annoyance induced by neighbour noise was collected and evaluated in connection with reported medically diagnosed illnesses. Adults who indicated chronically severe annoyance by neighbour noise were found to have an increased health risk in the cardio-vascular system, the movement apparatus, as well as increased risk of depression and migraine. With regards to elderly people there is generally a lower risk of noise annoyance induced illness than in other adults. It can be assumed that the effect of noise induced annoyance in older people is concealed by health consequences of age (with a strong increase of illnesses). With children, the effect of noise induced annoyance from neighbour noise is most evident in the respiratory system. The increased illness risks in the respiratory system in children do not seem to be caused primarily by air pollutants, but rather, as a result of emotional stress. Neighbour noise induced annoyance is therefore a highly underestimated risk factor for healthy housing. © 2007 Institute of Noise Control Engineering.
Because of an expert’s report on the medical effects of noise on healthy adults, permissible values for mainly traffic noise have been estimated by the standard of knowledge. If the permissible values are exceeded, then preventative medical action is necessary. Below this value the probability of noise-induced health hazards is essentially zero. The effect due to noise as a health hazard is, besides the mechanical damage of the inner ear, a psycho-physiological deregulation which can be either indirectly due to the annoyance or directly caused by stress of the vegatative-hormonal system. Therefore, different permissible values for annoyance, the stress on the vegetative-hormonal system, and for the loss of hearing are suggested, for both continuous and maximum noise levels. In addition, the deregulation depends on the time of the acoustic exposure because the sensitivity to noise follows a 24-h cycle (circadian rhythm). It is therefore necessary to give personal permissible limits for the evening noise and the nocturnal noise.
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