Noise and health
Noise can cause annoyance and fatigue, interfere with communication and sleep, reduce efficiency and damage hearing. The World Health Organisation recommends a guideline level of 30 dB LAeq for undisturbed sleep, and a daytime level for outdoor sound levels of 50dB to prevent people from becoming "moderately annoyed" (Guidelines for Community Noise, 2000).
Physiological effects of exposure to noise include constriction of blood vessels, tightening of muscles, increased heart rate and blood pressure and changes in stomach and abdomen movement. The effects of exposure to noise are personal as hearing sensitivity varies. Exposure to constant or very loud noise – either occupational or leisure – can cause temporary or permanent damage to hearing.
There is an increasing body of research linking prolonged exposure to transport noise to health impacts. A major impact of noise is sleep disturbance – and disrupted sleep has been linked to effects on cardiac health. A number of reports have made direct links between transport noise and cardiac health. Most work carried out has looked at impacts of aviation noise. There are links between children's concentration too. Much of this work has been carried out in Europe.
Currently the Department for Transport base noise impact contours on 1982 ANIS data which uses 57dB(A) as the level of onset of annoyance.
The ANSASE report Attitudes to Noise From Aviation Sources in England and the HACAN report HACAN Aircraft Noise and London Heathrow Flight Paths both found annoyance at lower measured noise levels.
Environmental Protection UK wrote to Ministers in February 2008, urging a review of research into impacts of aviation noise, but to date have not received a reply. Read our letter to Ministers on the impacts of aviation noise.
For the UK, The Health Protection Agency published their draft report Environmental Noise and Health in the UK in July 2009, for comment by 17 August 2009. Meanwhile, Defra also published their report Estimating Dose-Response Relationships between Noise Exposure and Human Health in the UK.
New guidelines on noise levels at night, published in October 2009 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend an annual average night noise exposure not exceeding 40 decibels (dB) – equivalent to a quiet residential street. WHO say that while levels above this can cause sleep disturbance and insomnia, prolonged exposure to noise above 55dB at night can trigger raised blood pressure and even heart attacks.
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