Annoyance from road traffic noise: A review

In this paper the negative effects resulting from exposure to road traffic noise on people's well being is reviewed in the light of the latest publish ed finding;. Annoyance is particularly focused on, which is considered to b e one of the first and most widespread reactions to environmental noise. Th e nonauditory effects of noise on humans are viewed as being generally stre ss-related, following observations that noise exposures engender physiologi cal reactions typical to those of stress. First, a short presentation is ma de of what noise in general is. Subsequently, in order to assess some subje ctive judgements of noise, some of the important noise descriptors, which a re often used to quantify various aspects of road traffic noise are introdu ced. In general terms, it is found from the present review that the continu ous exposure of people to road traffic noise leads to suffering from variou s kinds of discomfort, thus reducing appreciably the number of their well-b eing elements. Drawing such a conclusion is hindered by difficulties when nonacoustical fa ctors, for instance socio-economic situation, age and gender, are also take n into account along with the usual acoustical factors of road traffic nois e. One of people's first and direct reactions to noise is in terms of annoy ance. The results of several decades of research on this topic have permitt ed lately the establishment of a more or less quantitative relationship bet ween the objective quantities characterizing road traffic noise and the hum an subjective reaction to it; as expressed by annoyance. These findings are important at both the society and the individual level, in as much as they may help in regulating in a more efficient way the planning of road traffi c activity in order to secure at least the minimum of comfort to the affect ed population. (C) 2001 Academic Press.