Aviation-related noise-induced annoyance and health-related quality of life

摘要

Noise is an environmental nuisance that has the potential to degrade health and negatively impact the relationship between humans and their environment. The mode of transport effect stipulates that aviation noise is more annoying than either rail or road noise. While sleep disturbance and annoyance are the dominant health consequences of community noise exposure, cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment in children also contribute. The WHO describe ideal health as "...a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". While recent population-level studies demonstrate significant associations between aviation noise and risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease, few studies have engaged measures of wellbeing. This paper describes an epidemiological study undertaken to compare noise annoyance and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of individuals residing close to a major international airport (n=87) with those in a demographically-matched area (n=91). Results indicate that domains of HRQOL may be degraded in those living in areas more likely to induce noise annoyance. Additionally, the addition of aviation noise to environments already encroached by road noise may induce further annoyance and degradations in HRQOL, indicating that unique sources of noise may not mask the impacts of other noises.