Thread by @NotSoLoudPVD

“The most annoying sounds are typically associated with transport — aviation, road traffic, railways — and living in urban areas ... entertainment, neighbors, and new sources such as heatpumps or mechanical ventilation #noise in heavily insulated houses.” irishtimes.com/health/2023/03…

“The levels we are talking about when we look at #noise and health are much lower than occupational noise levels [in industrial jobs], and lower than levels that have effects on hearing.”
— Anna Hansell, professor of environmental epidemiology at Britain's University of Leicester

“There’s a lot of evidence on effects of #noise on sleep disturbance, but also links to cardiovascular health and a possible link to respiratory disease. ‘The strongest evidence is on ischaemic heart disease [and] road #trafficnoise’” and some on metabolic impacts, like diabetes.

“If aircraft went overhead, blood pressure and heart rate would go up in response, but the person wouldn’t necessarily wake up. The body can become sensitized to unwanted #noise — even if people don’t react to it on a conscious level, it will still have a physiological response.”

“There’s firm evidence of aviation #noise impairing children’s learning, and indications it affects long-term and short-term memory, but a lack of research on #mentalhealth, well-being, and quality-of-life effects. ‘This is increasingly a concern of communities’” in the UK.

“With #noise complaints from the public increasing, current measures ‘don’t always allow them to be adequately addressed,’ the EPA warned in 2020. Local authorities ‘need to take a much stronger role in dealing with noise issues’ and designating quiet areas in cities for health.”