Annoyance from transportation noise: Relationships with exposure metrics DNL and DENL and their confidence intervals
01 Apr 2001-Environmental Health Perspectives (National Institute of Environmental Health Science)-Vol. 109, Iss: 4, pp 409-416
TL;DR: Better estimates of the confidence intervals due to the improved model of the relationship between annoyance and noise exposure are provided, which is easier to use for practical calculations than the model itself.
Abstract: We present a model of the distribution of noise annoyance with the mean varying as a function of the noise exposure. Day-night level (DNL) and day-evening-night level (DENL) were used as noise descriptors. Because the entire annoyace distribution has been modeled, any annoyance measure that summarizes this distribution can be calculated from the model. We fitted the model to data from noise annoyance studies for aircraft, road traffic, and railways separately. Polynomial approximations of relationships implied by the model for the combinations of the following exposure and annoyance measures are presented: DNL or DENL, and percentage "highly annoyed" (cutoff at 72 on a scale of 0-100), percentage "annoyed" (cutoff at 50 on a scale of 0-100), or percentage (at least) "a little annoyed" (cutoff at 28 on a scale of 0-100). These approximations are very good, and they are easier to use for practical calculations than the model itself, because the model involves a normal distribution. Our results are based on the same data set that was used earlier to establish relationships between DNL and percentage highly annoyed. In this paper we provide better estimates of the confidence intervals due to the improved model of the relationship between annoyance and noise exposure. Moreover, relationships using descriptors other than DNL and percentage highly annoyed, which are presented here, have not been established earlier on the basis of a large dataset.
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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.
1,189 citations
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.
942 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.
794 citations
University of British Columbia1, Imperial College London2, University of Basel3, University of Bristol4, University of Southern California5, Utrecht University6, Flemish Institute for Technological Research7, University of California, Berkeley8, University of Canterbury9, West Virginia University10, National University of Ireland, Galway11, University of Minnesota12, Mines ParisTech13, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill14, University of Chile15, San Diego State University16, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research17, National Institute for Health and Welfare18
TL;DR: Evaluating impacts of active travel policies is highly complex; however, many associations can be quantified, and identifying health-maximizing policies and conditions requires integrated HIAs.
517 citations
Cites background from "Annoyance from transportation noise..."
...Exposures to road traffic and aircraft noise have been associated with annoyance, sleep disturbance and myocardial infarction in longterm exposure studies (Kempen van and Houthuijs, 2008; Miedema and Oudshoorn, 2001; Miedema and Vos, 2007)....
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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.
516 citations
Cites background from "Annoyance from transportation noise..."
...noise, and a more pronounced effect of aircraft noise at the same equivalent noise level (Figure 1).(1)...
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...Adapted from Miedema and Oudcshoorn.(1)...
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...Adapted from Miedema and Oudcshoorn.1 T ab le 1 N o is e m et ri cs an d th ei r de fi ni ti o n SP L: T he so un d pr es su re le ve l( SP L) is al og ar ith m ic m ea su re of th e ef fe ct iv e pr es su re of as ou nd re la tiv e to ar ef er en ce va lu e....
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...At the same equivalent noise level, annoyance and selfreported sleep disturbance are usually highest for aircraft noise, and higher for road compared with rail traffic noise (Figure 1).(1) Further, long-term exposure to relevant noise levels has been shown to be associated with negative health outcomes....
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References
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TL;DR: Introduction Continuous Outcomes Binary Outcomes Testing and Fit Ordinal Outcomes Nominal outcomes Limited Outcomes Count Outcomes Conclusions
Abstract: Introduction Continuous Outcomes Binary Outcomes Testing and Fit Ordinal Outcomes Nominal Outcomes Limited Outcomes Count Outcomes Conclusions
5,248 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that the average of these curves is the best currently available relationship for predicting community annoyance due to transportation noise of all kinds.
Abstract: Since noise was first recognized as a serious environmental pollutant, a number of social surveys have been conducted in order to assess the magnitude of the problem and to develop suitable noise ratings, such that, from a measurement of certain physical characteristics of community noise, one could reliably predict the community’s subjective response to the noise. Recently, the author has reviewed the data from social surveys concerning the noise of aircraft, street traffic, expressway traffic, and railroads. Going back to the original published data, the various survey noise ratings were translated to day–night average sound level, and an independent judgment was made, where choice was possible, as to which respondents should be counted as ’’highly annoyed.’’ The results of 11 of these surveys show a remarkable consistency. It is proposed that the average of these curves is the best currently available relationship for predicting community annoyance due to transportation noise of all kinds.
671 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented synthesis curves for the relationship between DNL and percentage highly annoyed for three transportation noise sources, including aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise, based on all 21 datasets examined by Schultz and Fidell et al. and augmented with 34 datasets.
Abstract: This article presents synthesis curves for the relationship between DNL and percentage highly annoyed for three transportation noise sources. The results are based on all 21 datasets examined by Schultz [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 64, 377-405 (1978)] and Fidell et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89, 221-233 (1991)] for which acceptable DNL and percentage highly annoyed measure could be derived, augmented with 34 datasets. Separate, nonidentical curves were found for aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise. A difference between sources was found using data for all studies combined and for only those studies in which respondents evaluated two sources. The latter outcome strengthens the conclusion that the differences between sources cannot be explained by differences in study methodology.
590 citations
TL;DR: Although the number of data points from which a new relationship was inferred more than tripled, the 1978 relationship still provides a reasonable fit to the data.
Abstract: More than a decade has passed since a relationship between community noise exposure and the prevalence of annoyance was synthesized by Schultz [T. J. Schultz, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 64, 377–405 (1978)] from the findings of a dozen social surveys. This quantitative dosage–effect relationship has been adopted as a standard means for predicting noise‐induced annoyance in environmental assessment documents. The present effort updates the 1978 relationship with findings of social surveys conducted since its publication. Although the number of data points from which a new relationship was inferred more than tripled, the 1978 relationship still provides a reasonable fit to the data.
214 citations
TL;DR: A general model of the relation between SELs of sound events (aircraft overflights) and noise annoyance is presented which allows for a wide range of tradeoffs and time-of-day penalties and it was found that the strongest correlation with annoyance is obtained with a nighttime penalty.
Abstract: A decrease in the level of sound events can compensate for an increase in the level of other events, but noise metrics assume different tradeoffs. Noise metrics also differ in the penalty applied to noise in the evening and to noise in the night, and in the definition of these periods. These two aspects of noise metrics, i.e., the tradeoff and the penalty for the nighttime (23-7h), are investigated. A general model of the relation between SELs of sound events (aircraft overflights) and noise annoyance is presented which allows for a wide range of tradeoffs and time-of-day penalties. The (tradeoff and time-of-day penalty) parameters of the model are fitted to the data from an aircraft noise study conducted around Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which is especially suited for investigating the tradeoff and time- of-day penalties. It was found that in this study the tradeoff between the levels of events in metrics based on L(Aeq)'s, such as L(Aeq)(24 h), DNL, and DENL, is approximately correct for the prediction of noise annoyance. Furthermore, it was found that the strongest correlation with annoyance is obtained with a nighttime penalty of circa 10 dB. No suitable data were available for further tests of the tradeoff. The result with respect to the nighttime penalty was weakly further supported by the outcome of analyses of the original data from four other aircraft noise surveys (one survey conducted around British airports, and three coordinated surveys carried out around Paris Orly, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Glasgow Abbotsinch). (C) 2000 Acoustical Society of America.
41 citations