The reliability of the noise sensitivity questionnaire in a cross-national analysis

Noise sensitivity is regarded as a relevant predictor for annoyance reactions. Since many studies have focused on noise sensitivity at an international level, the present analysis was conducted to detect national peculiarities concerning noise sensitivity. Using the approach of the generalizability theory, reliability of the noise sensitivity questionnaire was analyzed taking into consideration relevant facets assumed to contribute to the measurement error. A total of 126 individuals from seven European countries participated in this study. The reliability coefficients for the global noise sensitivity score ranged from 0.90 to 0.91. It was determined that the translated questionnaires are comparable.