The extra-auditory effects of noise and annoyance: an overview of research

This paper is an overview of research on the extra-auditory effects of exposure to noise. The aim is to demonstrate the pervasiveness of the effects in support of noise reduction at the source for reasons that go well beyond hearing conservation. The areas discussed are performance effects, including vigilance, selective attention, sensory-motor behavior and memory; physical effects, including cardiovascular disease and sleep-related disorders, and annoyance, with special reference to psychological outcomes. The results show that high levels of noise are particularly disruptive for dual-task paradigms, requiring attention sharing, and sequential responding, involving speed and accuracy. Both the level and the type of noise background affect memory, severely limiting the number of stimulus dimensions that may be simultaneously encoded and retained. Community noise with a preponderance of heavy traffic and aircraft flyovers affects sleep, resulting in changes in the normal pattern of EEG fluctuations, and increases in movement and heart rate. Lastly, noise causes annoyance, with its own set of by-products: job dissatisfaction, irritability and anxiety over potential risk.