Children’s annoyance reactions to aircraft and road traffic noise

Abstract

10 pages.-- PACS: 43.50.Qp; 43.50.Lj; 43.66.Lj

Since annoyance reactions of children to environmental noise have rarely been investigated, no source specific exposure-response relations are available. The aim of this paper is to investigate children's reactions to aircraft and road traffic noise and to derive exposure-response relations. To this end, children's annoyance reactions to aircraft and road traffic noise in both the home and the school setting were investigated using the data gathered in a cross-sectional multicenter study, carried out among 2844 children (age 9–11 years) attending 89 primary schools around three European airports. An exposure-response relation was demonstrated between exposure to aircraft noise at school (LAeq,7–23 h) and severe annoyance in children: after adjustment for confounders, the percentage severely annoyed children was predicted to increase from about 5.1% at 50 dB to about 12.1% at 60 dB. The findings were consistent across the three samples. Aircraft noise at home (LAeq,7–23 h) demonstrated a similar relation with severe annoyance. Children attending schools with higher road traffic noise (LAeq,7–23 h) were more annoyed. Although children were less annoyed at levels above 55 dB, the shapes of the exposure-response relations found among children were comparable to those found in their parents.

Peer reviewed