Annoyance due to aircraft noise has increased over the years—Results of the HYENA study
Introduction
The association between noise and noise annoyance has been extensively investigated. Annoyance is a term used in general for all negative feelings such as disturbance, dissatisfaction, displeasure, irritation, and nuisance (Guski, 1999, Ouis, 2002). Pooled analyses (meta-analyses) were carried out and synthesis curves were derived that can be used for the prediction of the percentage of annoyed subjects (Miedema and Vos, 1998, Schultz, 1978). A distinction has been made between the percentages of ‘little annoyed’ (%LA), ‘annoyed’ (%A) and ‘highly annoyed’ (%HA) subjects according to certain cut-off criteria of the distributions of annoyance ratings in the individual studies (Miedema and Oudshoorn, 2001). Conversions were made with respect to the noise indicator Lden according to the EU Directive on Environmental Noise (Directive 2002/49/EC, 2002). The curves derived by Miedema et al. (known as ‘Miedema curves’) are commonly used for predicting the number of highly noise annoyed subjects in European communities (European Commission Working Group on Dose–Effect Relations, 2002). Similar exposure–response relationships were derived with respect to self-reported sleep disturbance by a European Commission working group (European Commission Working Group on Health and Socio-Economic Aspects, 2004, Miedema and Vos, 2007). A common finding in the syntheses of annoyance and sleep disturbance studies was that at the same A-weighted average noise exposure level or noise indicator, aircraft noise was more annoying than road traffic noise, and railway noise less annoying than road traffic noise (Fields and Walker, 1982, Kryter, 1982, Kryter, 1983, Miedema and Vos, 1998). As well as other reasons, shielding (non-exposed side of the house) and access to quiet rooms may have an impact on the annoyance ratings, which could be a possible explanation for the observed source-specific differences of annoyance curves (e. g. aircraft noise vs. road traffic noise) (Jakovljevic et al., 2009, Kryter, 1982, Miedema and Borst, 2007, Schultz, 1982). The American standard ANSI 12.9 part 4, which is based on ISO 1996—using different correction factors—does not consider a railway bonus, and the penalty for aircraft noise varies between 0 and 5 dB, depending on the sound level (ANSI S12.9, 2003, Gjestland, 2008, ISO 1996/1, 2003). The present article is concerned with the possible change of the peoples' perception of aircraft noise throughout the years.
In some newer investigations annoyance ratings due to aircraft noise were found to be higher than predicted by the EU standard curve (Kastka et al., 1995, Le Masurier et al., 2007, Schreckenberg and Meis, 2006, Schreckenberg and Meis, 2007). Time-selective meta-analyses suggested that annoyance exposure–response relationships might be moving upwards (Guski, 2003, Guski, 2004, van Kempen and van Kamp, 2005, Wirth et al., 2005a). It has been suggested that the perception of aircraft noise and the attitude towards it—and thus the annoyance—has changed over the years (Bröer and Wirth, 2004). This may be due to the fact that many of the studies that were considered for the exposure–response curves are now more than 25 years old. During the 1960s through to the 1990s the sound level equivalent causing 25% of ‘highly annoyed’ subjects due to aircraft noise seemed to have diminished by approximately 6–7 dB(A) of the LDN (Bröer and Wirth, 2004, Guski, 2004). However, methodological factors of studies such as response rate could also have played a role (selection bias). Particularly, in telephone surveys and postal questionnaire surveys, higher annoyance ratings were found with increasing response rate, suggesting that less annoyed subjects are less likely to participate in social surveys on community noise annoyance (Brooker, 2009). Annoyance is a multi-factorial concept that is only partly determined by the noise level (Fields, 1993, Guski, 1999, Job, 1988a, Job, 1991, Job and Hatfield, 1998, Miedema and Vos, 1999, Öhrström et al., 1988, Ouis, 2001). Although clear exposure–response relationships have been found between the noise level and the noise annoyance, the amount of variance (R2) that is explained by the noise level is relatively small (25 to 30%) (van Kempen et al., 2005, Kroesen et al., 2008).
In the HYENA study we assessed noise levels and annoyances due to aircraft noise and road traffic noise in large population samples in the vicinity of six major European airports. We compared the relationships between road traffic noise level and annoyance due to road traffic noise on the one hand, and the association between aircraft noise level and annoyance due to aircraft noise on the other, with the EU standard annoyance curves for both noise sources. Possible derivations of the HYENA curves from the EU aircraft noise curve could be viewed relative to HYENA derivations from the EU road traffic noise curve. Because both refer to the same subjects we were able to see whether the relationship between noise and noise annoyance had changed in general or source specifically. In other words, we could use the relationships for road traffic noise as a reference for the judgement upon any change of the annoyance due to aircraft noise curve from the respective EU exposure–response curve.
Section snippets
Methods
The HYENA study (HYENA = HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) is a large-scale multi-centred study carried out simultaneously in 6 European countries to assess the relationship between aircraft noise and road traffic noise on the one hand, and the prevalence of high blood pressure on the other. Details regarding the study design were given elsewhere (Jarup et al., 2005, Jarup et al., 2008). The present article is concerned with the association between noise and noise annoyance.
Results
Aircraft noise, road traffic noise and motorcycles were the most dominant sources of noise annoyance in our sample. The mean annoyance ratings (day/night) on the 11-point scale (range: 0–10) were as follows: aircraft (4.57/3.08), road (2.53/1.50), train (0.38/0.28), motorcycles (2.18/1.20), tram (0.02/0.00), construction (0.85/0.06), neighbours (0.84/0.51), industry (0.37/0.16), shops (0.19/0.25), indoor (0.30/0.17). In the following, the focus is on aircraft and road traffic noise only, which
Discussion
Noise annoyance is a multi-factorial concept (Guski et al., 1999, van Kempen and van Kamp, 2005). It summarizes all negative feelings that subjects attribute to a noise source. The sound level only partly explains the variance of the annoyance in empirical studies. The general findings of the HYENA study is that the perception towards aircraft noise of the population that live in the vicinity of major airports in Europe has changed compared to older studies, which are represented by the EU
Conclusion
Our data indicates that annoyance due to aircraft noise has increased throughout the recent years, and that the current EU prediction curve for aircraft noise annoyance should be modified. No respective changes were found with respect to annoyance due to road traffic noise.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Hyena study team and the participants for their time and effort. The authors would also like to thank the Aviation Administrations and the Road Administrations in each of the participating countries for their contribution to the exposure assessment.
The study was funded by grants from the European Commission (Directorate General Research) Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, Key Action 4 Environment and Health (grant QLRT-2001-02501).
Members of
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