Author
J. Quehl
Bio: J. Quehl is an academic researcher from German Aerospace Center. The author has contributed to research in topic(s): Aircraft noise & Noise. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 20 publication(s) receiving 310 citation(s).
Topics: Aircraft noise, Noise, Annoyance, Traffic noise, Noise pollution
Papers
More filters
[...]
TL;DR: Nocturnal freight train noise exposure in Germany was associated with increased awakening probabilities exceeding those for aircraft noise and contrasting the findings of many annoyance surveys and annoyance ratings of the study.
Abstract: Background Traffic noise is interfering during day- and nighttime causing distress and adverse physiological reactions in large parts of the population. Railway noise proved less annoying than aircraft noise in surveys which were the bases for a so called 5 dB railway bonus regarding noise protection in many European countries. Objectives The present field study investigated railway noise-induced awakenings during sleep, nighttime annoyance and the impact on performance the following day. Comparing these results with those from a field study on aircraft noise allowed for a ranking of traffic modes concerning physiological and psychological reactions. Methods 33 participants (mean age 36.2 years ± 10.3 (SD); 22 females) living alongside railway tracks around Cologne/Bonn (Germany) were polysomnographically investigated. These data were pooled with data from a field study on aircraft noise (61 subjects) directly comparing the effects of railway and aircraft noise in one random subject effects logistic regression model. Annoyance was rated in the morning evaluating the previous night. Results Probability of sleep stage changes to wake/S1 from railway noise increased significantly from 6.5% at 35 dB(A) to 20.5% at 80 dB(A) LAFmax. Rise time of noise events had a significant impact on awakening probability. Nocturnal railway noise led to significantly higher awakening probabilities than aircraft noise, partly explained by the different rise times, whereas the order was inversed for annoyance. Freight train noise compared to passenger train noise proved to have the most impact on awakening probability. Nocturnal railway noise had no effect on psychomotor vigilance. Conclusions Nocturnal freight train noise exposure in Germany was associated with increased awakening probabilities exceeding those for aircraft noise and contrasting the findings of many annoyance surveys and annoyance ratings of our study. During nighttime a bonus for railway noise seems not appropriate.
74 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Whether noise-induced sleep fragmentation is associated with performance impairments in a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and a memory search task and the potential public health impact of nocturnal noise exposure is investigated.
Abstract: Nocturnal aircraft noise disturbs sleep and impairs recuperation. We investigated in laboratory and field studies whether noise-induced sleep fragmentation is associated with performance impairments in a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and a memory search task. In the laboratory, 112 participants were exposed to aircraft noise during 9 consecutive nights. In the field, 64 participants were examined during 9 consecutive nights in the vicinity of Cologne/Bonn airport. Reaction time, signal detection performance and subjective task load were recorded. Dose–response relationships showed significant, linear impairments in reaction times. In the laboratory, reaction time in PVT increased with 0.13 ms/dB equivalent noise level (LAeq) plus 0.02 ms/noise event. In the field study, reaction time increased with 0.3 ms/dB LAeq. Participants worked significantly less accurate after nocturnal noise exposure. Influences of LAeq and number of noise events on daytime performance were small but consistent and significant, stressing the potential public health impact of nocturnal noise exposure.
60 citations
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of nocturnal aircraft noise on annoyance ratings were investigated in the laboratory setting and in the field using questionnaires with 128 subjects of a laboratory study performed at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine.
Abstract: Dose–response curves regarding the annoying impact of nocturnal aircraft noise were calculated for the (1) maximum noise level LAS,max combined with the number of aircraft noise events and for the (2) energy equivalent noise level LAS,eq event by means of random effects logistic regression. These parameters were compared according to their predictive properties for annoyance ratings. Questionnaire surveys with 128 subjects of a laboratory study performed at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine served as data basis. The laboratory results were compared to the results of a field study carried out with 64 airport residents living in the vicinity of the Airport Cologne/Bonn. In the laboratory setting there was a significant rise of the portion of annoyed people depending on LAS,max and frequency of fly-overs. Unlike previous studies, the percent annoyed by aircraft noise also increased with LAS,max in nights with less than 16, but louder aircraft noise events. The group of annoyed subjects also significantly increased with the LAS,eq event; however, above 50 dBA it decreased again since fewer but louder events were presented in the underlying combinations of noise level (45–80 dBA LAS,max) and number of noise events per night (4 to 128). Data from the field study confirmed the trend of the laboratory dose–response relationships. Nevertheless, the curves established in the laboratory lay above the field-specific curves, i.e., subjects felt more annoyed by aircraft noise in the laboratory setting than in their domestic environment. This was most probably caused by the increased number of awakenings in the laboratory compared to field conditions. The findings of the studies indicate that not only the energy equivalent noise level, as used in noise abatement rules of many countries, but also the number of aircraft events are a major source of nocturnal aircraft noise induced annoyance.
43 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Annoyance due to aircraft noise was stronger compared to both rail and road traffic noise, however, according to multvariable random subject effect logistic regression models, awakening probability increased in the order AI, RO, RA (AI
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: It is a well known fact that noise annoyance depends on the traffic mode. Much less is known about differences in physiological effects, especially on combined effects. Therefore, we investigated the effects of air (AI), road (RO) and rail (RA) traffic noise on sleep in the AIRORA study. METHODS: 72 subjects (40 ± 13 years, 32 male) were polysomnographically investigated during 11 consecutive nights in the laboratory. Electrophysiological signals included EEG, EOG, EMG, EKG, respiratory movements and finger pulse amplitude. Cortisol and noradrenalin were measured in nocturnal urine samples. Each traffic mode consisted of five noise categories (maximum SPL 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 dBA) with 8 different noise events, i.e. 40 noise events in total. Therefore, between 40 and 120 noise events were realistically played back during single (AI, RO, RA, RORO), double (AIRO, AIRA, RORA) and triple (AIRORA) exposure nights. The design was complemented with a noise-free control night and carefully balanced. RESULTS: Annoyance due to aircraft noise was stronger compared to both rail and road traffic noise. However, according to multvariable random subject effect logistic regression models, awakening probability increased in the order AI, RO, RA (AI
27 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Annoyance ratings increased significantly with the total number of trains and freight trains per night, and non-significantly with rising number of passenger trains and energy equivalent sound pressure level, but no other aspects of subjective sleep disturbances were examined.
Abstract: Railway noise interferes with daytime activities and disturbs sleep leading to annoyance of exposed residents. The main objective of this paper was to establish exposure-response relationships between nocturnal railway noise exposure and annoyance and to examine self-reported sleep disturbances as short-term reactions to noise. In a field study 33 residents living close to railway tracks in the Cologne/Bonn area (Germany) were investigated. Railway noise was measured indoors during nine consecutive nights at each site. Questionnaires referring to annoyance and non-acoustical factors were performed. Annoyance ratings increased significantly with the total number of trains and freight trains per night, and non-significantly with rising number of passenger trains and energy equivalent sound pressure level (L(Aeq)), when adjusting the model for non-acoustical variables. The total number of trains and the number of freight trains also significantly affected self-reported awakening frequency, but no other aspects of subjective sleep disturbances. The responses of this subject sample referring to railway noise in the previous night point to rather low impairments of exposed residents.
27 citations
Cited by
More filters
[...]
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health and stress that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, aff ects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren.
Abstract: Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health eff ects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced haircell and nerve damage has substantially increased, and preventive and therapeutic drugs will probably become available within 10 years. Evidence of the non-auditory eff ects of environmental noise exposure on public health is growing. Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, aff ects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren. In this Review, we stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health.
937 citations
[...]
TL;DR: The importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health is stressed, as Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness.
Abstract: Summary Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health effects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced hair-cell and nerve damage has substantially increased, and preventive and therapeutic drugs will probably become available within 10 years. Evidence of the non-auditory effects of environmental noise exposure on public health is growing. Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, affects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren. In this Review, we stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health.
909 citations
Book•
[...]
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: Policy-makers and their advisers are provided with technical support in their quantitative risk assessment of environmental noise and can use the procedure for estimating burdens presented here to prioritize and plan environmental and public health policies.
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.
693 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Evidence from epidemiologic studies demonstrates that environmental noise is associated with an increased incidence of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke, and the importance of noise mitigation strategies for public health is stressed.
Abstract: The role of noise as an environmental pollutant and its impact on health are being increasingly recognized. Beyond its effects on the auditory system, noise causes annoyance and disturbs sleep, and it impairs cognitive performance. Furthermore, evidence from epidemiologic studies demonstrates that environmental noise is associated with an increased incidence of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Both observational and experimental studies indicate that in particular night-time noise can cause disruptions of sleep structure, vegetative arousals (e.g. increases of blood pressure and heart rate) and increases in stress hormone levels and oxidative stress, which in turn may result in endothelial dysfunction and arterial hypertension. This review focuses on the cardiovascular consequences of environmental noise exposure and stresses the importance of noise mitigation strategies for public health.
402 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Based on the available evidence, transportation noise affects objectively measured sleep physiology and subjectively assessed sleep disturbance in adults and for children’s 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.
205 citations