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Community response to noise: is all noise the same?
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|October 1, 1984
Summary
Community noise response varies by source type, but evidence for systematic differences remains tentative. An average dose-response curve is practical when specific conditions are unknown.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Acoustics
- Social Sciences
Background:
- Community response to noise is a significant environmental health concern.
- Numerous studies compare noise annoyance from various sources like road, rail, and air traffic.
- Existing research presents varied results, prompting investigation into their causes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if variations in community noise response are random or systematic.
- To identify factors influencing systematic variations in noise response.
- To establish conditions for using average dose-response curves.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and synthesis of published studies on community noise response.
- Analysis of dose-response curves across different noise sources and study locations.
- Evaluation of evidence for random versus systematic variations in noise annoyance.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests different dose-response functions for distinct noise sources (road, rail, air) and even subtypes (e.g., airport types).
- Variations were observed even within the same location across different studies.
- However, the evidence is not strong enough to definitively reject random variation around an average response.
Conclusions:
- While source type (road, rail, air traffic) is a practical categorization for differences, clear acoustical or community factors explaining variations are not yet identified.
- An average dose-response curve remains a useful tool when specific conditions or influencing factors cannot be precisely determined.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the precise drivers of systematic variations in community noise annoyance.