Hartmut Maaß

Bio: Hartmut Maaß is an academic researcher from German Aerospace Center. The author has contributed to research in topics: Traffic noise & Aircraft noise. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 7 publications receiving 121 citations.

Investigation of the operability of noise-reduced approaches by pilots

Abstract: Aircraft noise threatens air traffic growth, since residents are annoyed or suffer from impairments due to increasing aircraft movements. Low-noise approaches become of particular interest as short- or medium-term countermeasures. However, aircrew performance during such approaches may change, as may their acceptance, and flight safety may be mitigated compared to standard approaches. Therefore, a segmented continuous descent approach (SCDA) was compared to a standard low drag low power approach (LDLP). 40 pilots were tested on an either A320 or A330 full-flight simulator during one LDLP and 3 SCDAs. Due to switching tasks between flying and non-flying pilots, each pilot conducted 8 approaches. Technical, physiological and psychological data were monitored using EEG, EOG, ECG, saliva cortisol, and questionnaires (fatigue, taskload, acceptance). Under the conditions investigated, only small deviations from the planned flight paths were observed, indicating good performance. SCDA was rated rather non-problematic, and workload was acceptable. Taskload, fatigue, cortisol and ECG did not differ between the procedures. However, pilots rated SCDA as being less safe than LDLP. The simulator tests have been a first attempt to investigate noise reduced approaches under high fidelity conditions. Before discussing to introduce them into practice, further studies are strongly recommended, e.g. under real flight conditions.

Burden of Disease from Environmental Noise: Quantification of Healthy Life Years Lost in Europe

Abstract: The health impacts of environmental noise are a growing concern. At least one million healthy life years are lost every year from traffic-related noise in the western part of Europe. This publication summarises the evidence on the relationship between environmental noise and health effects, including cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, tinnitus, and annoyance. For each one, the environmental burden of disease methodology, based on exposure-response relationship, exposure distribution, background prevalence of disease and disability weights of the outcome, is applied to calculate the burden of disease in terms of disability-adjusted life-years. Data are still lacking for the rest of the WHO European Region. This publication provides policy-makers and their advisers with technical support in their quantitative risk assessment of environmental noise. International, national and local authorities can use the procedure for estimating burdens presented here to prioritize and plan environmental and public health policies.

WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region: A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Effects on Sleep.

Abstract: To evaluate the quality of available evidence on the effects of environmental noise exposure on sleep a systematic review was conducted. The databases PSYCINFO, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science and the TNO Repository were searched for non-laboratory studies on the effects of environmental noise on sleep with measured or predicted noise levels and published in or after the year 2000. The quality of the evidence was assessed using GRADE criteria. Seventy four studies predominately conducted between 2000 and 2015 were included in the review. A meta-analysis of surveys linking road, rail, and aircraft noise exposure to self-reports of sleep disturbance was conducted. The odds ratio for the percent highly sleep disturbed for a 10 dB increase in Lnight was significant for aircraft (1.94; 95% CI 1.61–2.3), road (2.13; 95% CI 1.82–2.48), and rail (3.06; 95% CI 2.38–3.93) noise when the question referred to noise, but non-significant for aircraft (1.17; 95% CI 0.54–2.53), road (1.09; 95% CI 0.94–1.27), and rail (1.27; 95% CI 0.89–1.81) noise when the question did not refer to noise. A pooled analysis of polysomnographic studies on the acute effects of transportation noise on sleep was also conducted and the unadjusted odds ratio for the probability of awakening for a 10 dBA increase in the indoor Lmax was significant for aircraft (1.35; 95% CI 1.22–1.50), road (1.36; 95% CI 1.19–1.55), and rail (1.35; 95% CI 1.21–1.52) noise. Due to a limited number of studies and the use of different outcome measures, a narrative review only was conducted for motility, cardiac and blood pressure outcomes, and for children’s sleep. The effect of wind turbine and hospital noise on sleep was also assessed. Based on the available evidence, transportation noise affects objectively measured sleep physiology and subjectively assessed sleep disturbance in adults. For other outcome measures and noise sources the examined evidence was conflicting or only emerging. According to GRADE criteria, the quality of the evidence was moderate for cortical awakenings and self-reported sleep disturbance (for questions that referred to noise) induced by traffic noise, low for motility measures of traffic noise induced sleep disturbance, and very low for all other noise sources and investigated sleep outcomes.

Single and combined effects of air, road, and rail traffic noise on sleep and recuperation.

Abstract: Study Objectives: Traffic noise disturbs sleep and may impair recuperation. There is limited information on single and combined effects of air, road and rail traffic noise on sleep and recuperation. Design: Repeated measures Setting: Polysomnographic laboratory study Participants: 72 healthy subjects, mean ± standard deviation 40 ± 13 years, range 18-71 years, 32 male Interventions: Exposure to 40, 80, or 120 rail, road, and/or air traffic noise events Measurements and Results: Subjects were investigated for 11 consecutive nights, which included eight noise exposure nights and one noise-free control night. Noise effects on sleep structure and continuity were subtle, even in nights with combined exposure, most likely due to habituation and an increase in arousal thresholds both within and across nights. However, cardiac arousals did not habituate across nights. Noise exposure significantly affected subjective assessments of sleep quality and recuperation, whereas objective performance was unaffected, except for a small increase in mean PVT reaction time (+4 ms, adjusted P 3 kHz) noise event components. Conclusions: Road, rail, and air traffic noise differentially affect objective and subjective assessments of sleep. Differences in the degree of noise-induced sleep fragmentation between traffic modes were explained by the specific spectral and temporal composition of noise events, indicating potential targets for active and passive noise control. Field studies are needed to validate our findings in a setting with higher ecologic validity.