Children's annoyance reactions to aircraft and road traffic noise

J Acoust Soc Am. 2009 Feb;125(2):895-904. doi: 10.1121/1.3058635.

Abstract

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 (L(Aeq,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 (L(Aeq,7-23 h)) demonstrated a similar relation with severe annoyance. Children attending schools with higher road traffic noise (L(Aeq,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.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Adult
  • Affect*
  • Aircraft*
  • Child
  • Child Behavior*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Europe
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Loudness Perception*
  • Male
  • Motor Vehicles*
  • Noise, Transportation / adverse effects*
  • Parents / psychology
  • Psychoacoustics
  • Quality of Life
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Urban Health