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Modeled percentage highly annoyed (%HA) by road traffic noise for three different IR 24h values (10%, 50%, 90%) and for the sample average of IR 24h. The curves are based on the full model with covariates centered on the mean. For better visibility, confidence interval boundaries are not shown.
Source publication
The aim of the present study is to establish exposure-response relationships reflecting the percentage highly annoyed (%HA) as functions of road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise exposure, measured as day-evening-night level (Lden), as well as to elucidate the degree to which the acoustic indicator Intermittency Ratio (IR), which reflects he “ev...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the case of road traffic noise (Fig. 6), where the correlation be- tween Lden and IR 24h is relatively small, low levels of IR 24h , thus a more constant exposure pattern, clearly seems to elicit stronger HA reactions. In contrast, the general trend for railway and aircraft noise (Figs. 7 and 8) seems to be that midrange intermittency (IR 24h = 50%), leads to slightly higher ...
Context 2
... was confirmed by somewhat higher %HA in highly intermittent rail and aircraft noise, we found that IR 24h has the opposite effect on road traffic noise annoyance: For road traffic noise, exposure situations with low IR 24h (most cer- tainly motorways) were associated with HA responses that were > 6 dB higher than situations with high IR 24h (cp. Fig. 6). This observation is in line with other studies that investigated annoyance differences between motorways and city streets (Danish Road Directorate, 2016;Miedema, 1993), but contradicts results reported by , who found the opposite. However, the latter study was carried out in the rather special environment of an alpine valley which ...
Context 3
... Lden. As in the present sample, road traffic noise occurred in very different temporal patterns, from relative continuity to high intermittency, the inclusion of the IR metric in the exposure-response model for %HA could explain differ- ences of > 6 dB between road traffic noise exposure situations with low (10%) or rather high (90%) IR 24h (cp. Fig. 6). We could thus show that the temporal distribution of sound energy from road traffic noise probably has an influence on annoyance reactions and therefore could be considered in the rating of road traffic noise in the future. However, the predictive value of using IR in the modeling of %HA was less strong in the case of railway noise ...
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BACKGROUND: Nighttime noise carries a significant disease burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published guidelines for the regulation of environmental noise based on a review of evidence published up to the year 2015 on the effects of environmental noise on sleep.
OBJECTIVES: This systematic review and meta-analysis will update th...
Citations
... The item is rated on a 5-point rating scale ranging from 1 (do not agree at all) to 5 (very much agree). The approach to assess noise sensitivity with a single question was taken from Brink et al. [86], who introduced this concept. Furthermore, we will ask the participants to describe their emotions through the sounds they heard during the walk. ...
Background
Stress is a widespread phenomenon and reality of everyday life, entailing negative consequences for physical and psychological wellbeing. Previous studies have indicated that exposure to greenspaces and nature-based interventions are promising approaches to reducing stress and promoting restoration. However, an increasing percentage of the population lives in urban regions with limited opportunities to spend time in greenspaces. In addition, urban settings typically feature increased levels of noise, which represents a major environmental stressor. Although various studies have compared the effects of exposure to greenspaces versus urban built environments, evidence of the effects of noise in this context is very limited. Psychophysiological benefits of exposure to greenspaces compared to urban built environments reported in earlier studies might be less (or at least not only) due to features of the greenspaces than to additional stressors, such as road traffic noise in the urban built environment. Hence, differences in the effects attributed to greenness in previous studies may also be due to potentially detrimental noise effects in comparison settings. This paper reports the study protocol for a randomized, controlled intervention study comparing the effects of walking in forest versus urban built environments, taking road traffic noise exposure during walks in the respective settings into account.
Methods
The protocol envisages a field study employing a pretest–posttest design to compare the effects of 30-min walks in urban built environments and forests with different road traffic noise levels. Assessments will consist of self-reported measures, physiological data (salivary cortisol and skin conductance), an attention test, and noise, as well as greenness measurements. The outcomes will be restoration, stress, positive and negative affect, attention, rumination, and nature connectedness.
Discussion
The results will inform about the restorative effect of walking in general, of exposure to different types of environments, and to different noise levels in these sites. The study will provide insights into the benefits of walking and nature-based interventions, taking into account the potential detrimental effects of noise exposure. It will thus facilitate a better understanding of low-threshold interventions to prevent stress and foster wellbeing.
Trial registration
ISRCTN48943261; Registered 23.11.2023.
... 91 Recent trends showed increased annoyance for aircraft and railway noise while remaining relatively stable for road traffic noise, necessitating further investigation into these variations. 92,93 Noise annoyance can be an early indicator of more severe health risks due to its rapid onset compared with physical illnesses. Historically, annoyance has been a critical indicator for shaping noise policies, with noise protection limit values partially based on exposureresponse functions for annoyance. ...
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.
... Most existing studies concur that rail traffic noise has a greater impact than road traffic noise. Through a field survey in residential areas, Brink et al. [44] found that railway noise elicited higher annoyance than road traffic noise at the same L den level. As for the comparison of different rail traffic noises, Di et al. reported similar results. ...
The present study focuses on the impact of exterior traffic noises on sound environment evaluation in office spaces, considering their interaction with interior noises. There were three interior noise conditions: silence, air-conditioner noise, and irrelevant speech noise. Six exterior traffic noises (road, maglev, tram, metro, conventional inter-city train, and high-speed train) were merged with interior noise clips to create the combined noise stimuli. Forty subjects participated in the experiment to assess the acoustic environment in office spaces exposed to multiple noises. The results showed that both interior and exterior noise significantly affected acoustic comfort and noise disturbance. As for the exterior traffic noise, both the traffic noise source and the noise level were found to be influential on both attributes. More temporally fluctuating traffic noises, such as high-speed train noise, were found to have a greater negative effect on subjective evaluations. Meanwhile, the interior noise source was also found to influence evaluations of the sound environment. Compared to the single traffic noise condition, irrelevant speech noise significantly increased the negative impact of traffic noises, while the air-conditioner noise had a neutral effect. In addition, participants in offices with speech noise were less sensitive to the traffic noise level.
... Brink: A survey on exposure-response relationships for road, rail and aircraft noise annoyance (Brink, 2019 (Guski, Schreckenberg, & Schümer, 2017). ...
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 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.
... We define that relaxation can occur when a threshold for the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (LAeq) of 45 dB during daytime is not exceeded by any transportation noise source. This threshold was identified by re-analysing data from a Swiss-wide socio-acoustic survey conducted within the SiRENE study, where residents reported their level of annoyance to road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise [42]. In that survey, respondents reported their noise annoyance on the ICBEN 5-point verbal scale (from "not at all annoyed" to "extremely annoyed") [43] individually for each transportation noise source (road, rail, air). ...
... This corroborates a unified threshold of LDay < 45 dB for defining a "quiet" UGBS that is compatible with relaxation. [42] that report being "not at all" or "slightly annoyed" in response to transportation noise exposure (road traffic, railway, aircraft). The dashed vertical lines define the threshold noise exposure level for at least 75% "lowly annoyed" persons. ...
Urban green and blue space (UGBS) contribute to a variety of nature-based values and human health benefits. As such, they play a critical role for the quality of life and sustainability in cities. Here, we use the metropolitan area of Geneva, Switzerland, as a case study to illustrate that UGBS are heterogeneous in spatial characteristics, such as surface area, naturality, or noise levels, which are associated with key cultural ecosystems services. For each characteristic, we defined a threshold with the realization of an associated cultural ecosystem service, including a novel noise threshold (LAeq < 45 dB) compatible with the notion of “quiet”. We then used geospatial information to generate place-based and people-based indicators that collectively describe the variation in key dimensions of UGBS. We found that, in Geneva, the typical (median) resident has access to 4.7 ha of UGBS, and 89% of residents live within 300 m of the nearest UGBS. Accessible surfaces of UGBS per capita, however, were highly variable by type of UGBS and across neighbourhoods. For example, residents from precarious neighbourhoods are less likely to live within 300 m of quiet UGBS than residents of privileged neighbourhoods, and when they do, these UGBS tend to be smaller. The proposed methodology categorizes UGBS in a manner that both captures their distinct social roles and highlights potential social injustice issues.
... These emissions can encompass many different sounds, including engine noise, wheel/rail interaction noise, horn sounds, and brake sounds. Despite the existence of multiple sources of railway noise, the primary contributors can be categorically distilled into the following: engine noise, propulsion noise, equipment noise, rolling noise, aerodynamic noise, and honking (Lambert et al. 1996;Votano et al. 2004;Brink et al. 2019;Sarikavak and Boxall 2019). ...
The urban environment is characterized by diverse noise sources, which include various modes of transport, industrial activities, household disturbances, and recreational activities. This collective soundscape in an urban setting is recognized as an emerging environmental concern. Particularly, transportation noise often exceeds the recommended guidelines established by the World Health Organization (WHO), and individuals exposed to it experience detrimental health effects. These ill effects include sleep disturbance, annoyance, hearing problems, cardiovascular diseases, and mental illness. Furthermore, these detrimental effects extend to the economic well-being of the public and the government. The issue of railway noise has gained attention due to the growing demand for rail transport and the expansion of railway networks. Unplanned urbanization has led to the settlement of migrants from rural areas close to railway lines, exposing them to continuous noise pollution and adversely affecting their health and well-being. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the characteristics and influences of individual sources to understand railway noise as a whole comprehensively. Various aspects of railway noise including its sources, measurement methods, characteristics of noise transmission pathways, receiver’s perception, mapping of railway noise, and control measures are documented sequentially. Additionally, the potential research areas encompassing railway noise evaluation, modelling, policy regulations, impact of meteorological conditions, design of noise mitigation barriers, and situational factors related to buildings are also presented.
... The adverse effects of traffic noise have long been acknowledged, as evidenced by (simplistic) regulations existing in the Roman Empire, which restricted circulation of chariots in stone streets during nighttime [3]. Indeed, sources of noise, artificial or nat-ural, have always existed, but not with the intensity experienced in modern urban environments, with a significant share resulting from road traffic [4] For these settings, research on the impact of sound pollution to well-being has identified road traffic noise as a major cause for annoyance [5][6] [7]. Notably, studies evaluating the differential of annoyance resulting from ICE to EV vehicles revealed that annoyance ratings were generally lower for EV vehicles [8]. ...
The widespread adoption of electric vehicles presents an opportunity to reduce the contribution of road traffic to noise pollution. However, concerns have been raised about the increased danger that quieter vehicles pose to other road users, as they may be less detectable. To address these concerns, Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) are currently legally mandatory in many parts of the U.S. and Europe. However, the addition of noise from AVAS has sparked controversy regarding missed opportunities for a quieter environment. To mitigate this, various researchers have developed and evaluated concepts for a directional sound source to be used in AVAS, which could address the issue of detectability while minimizing noise pollution. This work reviews the existing literature on vehicle directional alerting concepts and evaluate their effectiveness in the particularly concerning case of a shared zone closed car park, using an acoustic simulation model. Sound levels are measured for scenarios with directional AVAS and conventional AVAS (non-directional).
... Studies have primarily focused on the contributions of road traffic [17,18] and aircraft noise [19] to noise annoyance. Indicators of noise exposure primarily rely on the sound energy measured using the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq), which can be treated as the average outdoor noise exposure level, particularly in residential areas. ...
Understanding the causes of noise annoyance requires recognition of the factors that affect soundscape perceptions. This study aims to explore multilevel factors of acoustic comfort and the perceived health effects of sound exposure, including personal traits, sound characteristics, and spatiotemporal features of the surrounding environment. We designed the Soundmap chatbot to collect data from the participants during May 16-July 16, 2022. The participants completed two tasks including sound recording and questionnaires. Sound feature extraction and identification were computed. Two soundscape perception variables were used as outcome variables and measured, and cumulative link mixed models were applied for statistical analysis. Results showed that for female participants, lower acoustic comfort was associated with sound exposure at night, at the land use of transportation and built-up areas, as well as the sounds of machines, vehicles, and airplanes. Low-frequency sound exposure and sounds of nature, silence, music, and human activity were associated with higher acoustic comfort, and these exposures were also associated with positive perceptions of health in rural areas and on weekends. Individuals with extraversion had a higher tolerance to sound; those with high noise sensitivity had a lower tolerance to sound. Understanding sound perception is crucial in maintaining a sustainable urban acoustic environment.
... The topic of noise is now attracting the attention of international and regional civil aviation organizations due to its importance in affecting the environment. According to the official website of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the noise emanating from aircraft is defined as the loud sounds made by the aircraft engines from the beginning of its operation and takeoff to landing, leading to a significant impact on the environment by the noise caused by these processes [25]. Aircraft noise has been divided into two sources; (a) the sound of the plane, i.e., the noise emanating from the fuselage or the general structure of the aircraft during takeoff and landing, and (b) the sound of the engine, i.e., the noise generated by the fan and turbine inside the engine [26]. ...
The aviation industry significantly contributes to environmental degradation, particularly in airline emissions, noise pollution, and bird strikes. Despite the growing concern for sustainability in aviation industries, there is a lack of research on how passengers perceive airlines’ efforts to manage airlines’ environmental degradation. This study addresses this gap by investigating how passengers perceive airlines’ intrinsic and extrinsic environmental practices toward these issues. Using a scenario-based experiment, this study found that passengers are more likely to use an airline and spread positive word of mouth when environmental practices form part of intrinsic management efforts rather than extrinsic environmental practices, suggesting that airlines should focus on implementing sustainable practices that align with their core values rather than simply adopting superficial measures for public relations. The findings of this research have important theoretical and managerial implications for airline managers in terms of enhancing their sustainability practices. By prioritizing intrinsic management efforts, airlines can improve their environmental performance and enhance their reputation among environmentally conscious passengers, ultimately leading to increased profitability and long-term sustainability for the industry.
... The main findings and implications of this study are summarized as follows. First, as demonstrated in most studies on noise annoyance (Dzhambov et al., 2017;Brink et al., 2019), this study verified significant positive effects of real-time noise exposure on personal momentary noise annoyance based on two different sound characteristics, i.e., sound level and sound increment. However, the noise exposure-annoyance relationships with respect to these two sound characteristics may change or even take different forms over their value ranges (known as value range nonstationarity; see Kwan, 2021). ...
Annoyance is a major health burden induced by environmental noise. However, our understanding of the health impacts of noise is seriously undermined by the fixed contextual unit and limited sound characteristics (e.g., the sound level only) used in noise exposure assessments as well as the stationarity assumption made for exposure-response relationships. To address these limitations, we analyze the complex and dynamic relationships between personal momentary noise annoyance and real-time noise exposure in various activity microenvironments and times of day, taking into account individual mobility, multiple sound characteristics and nonstationary relationships. Using real-time mobile sensing, we collected individual data of momentary noise annoyance, real-time noise exposure as well as daily activities and travels in Hong Kong. A new sound characteristic, namely sound increment, is defined to capture the sudden increase in sound level over time and is used along with the sound level to achieve a multi-faceted assessment of personal real-time noise exposure at the moment of annoyance responses. Further, the complex noise exposure-annoyance relationships are learned using logistic regression and random forest models while controlling the effects of daily activity microenvironments, individual sociodemographic attributes and temporal contexts. The results indicate that the effects of the real-time sound level and sound increment on personal momentary noise annoyance are nonlinear, despite the overall significant and positive impacts, and different sound characteristics can produce a joint effect on annoyance. We also find that the daily activity microenvironments and individual sociodemographic attributes can affect noise annoyance and its relationship with different sound characteristics to varying degrees. Due to the temporal changes in daily activities and travels, the noise exposure-annoyance relationships can also vary over different times of the day. These findings can inform both local governments and residents with scientific evidence to promote the creation of acoustically comfortable living environments.
