The acute effect of exposure to noise on cardiovascular parameters in young adults

In this study, an experiment was conducted to examine whether noise exposure produced acute changes in cardiovascular responses, and whether these responses differed based on psycho-acoustic parameters to noises of low to high intensity.

Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled. Three industrial noises were binaurally presented with a supra-aural earphone. The sound levels of noise were <55, 75, and 90 dB. Each noise was continued for 20 min and the electrocardiogram was simultaneously recorded.

The results showed a statistically significant increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) at the 90 dB sound level. The study estimated a blood pressure increase of 0.85 mmHg/10 dB and 0.71 mmHg/10 dB in SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), respectively. These results suggest that exposure to noise, particularly high-frequency noise, negatively impacts blood pressure. The tonality and fluctuation strength of noise especially impacts systolic blood pressure.

The psycho-acoustic parameters of noise should be considered when evaluating the impact of noise exposure.