Aircraft noise, hearing ability, and annoyance

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Audiology
• Acoustics

Background:

• Aircraft noise exposure is a growing concern for communities near airports.
• Understanding the impact of noise on children's hearing and well-being is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between aircraft noise exposure, hearing loss, and annoyance in schoolchildren.
• To compare environmental noise measurements with individual noise exposure and hearing thresholds.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 242 sixth-grade students from two schools near an international airport in Taiwan.
• Classified students into high- and low-noise-exposure groups based on environmental noise.
• Measured personal 24-h noise exposure, hearing threshold levels, and environmental aircraft noise.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in individual hearing threshold levels between high- and low-noise-exposure groups.
• A higher proportion of students in the high-noise-exposure group reported annoyance from aircraft noise.
• Personal noise exposure was not a significant factor for annoyance.

Conclusions:

• Environmental noise measurement may not be suitable for assessing auditory damage from aircraft noise in Taiwan.
• Aircraft noise exposure did not affect hearing thresholds but did cause annoyance in schoolchildren near the airport.