TRAFFIC NOISE EXPOSURE AND ANNOYANCE REACTIONS

Abstract The relation between annoyance and exposure to traffic noise was studied in areas exposed to different levels of city traffic noise. A traditional social survey technique was used and the annoyance was evaluated as the percent very annoyed in population samples of about eighty persons. A relatively good relation was found between the annoyance and the traffic noise level expressed as L Aq or L 01 . When noise levels in dB(A) or number of vehicles were related to annoyance a higher correlation was found for data from the heavy vehicles. If the noise level was expressed as the dB(A) value from heavy vehicles (buses, trucks) a dose-response relationship resembling that earlier found for aircraft noise was found.