The Effects of Airplane Noise on Health: An Examination of Three Hypotheses

Neighborhoods and Health in Later Life: The Intersection of Biology and Community

“…And, a large literature indicates that features of the household environment can present direct and indirect health risks, particularly for older adults. For example, older adults who reside in households characterized by noise, odor, extreme temperatures, clutter, and a lack of cleanliness are at increased risk of falls and accidents (Sattin, Rodriguez, DeVito, & Wingo, 1998), development of respiratory illness (Fisk, Lei-Gomez, & Mendell, 2007), infectious diseases (Stanwell-Smith, 2003), cardiovascular disease (Graeven, 1974), psychological distress (Evans et al, 2002), depression and anxiety (Evans, Wells, & Moch, 2003), and all-cause mortality (Oswald & Wahl, 2004;Semenza et al, 1996). Furthermore, disability studies note that household features such as poor lighting, torn carpet, noise, or clutter can increase the extent to which a health problem results in disability (Verbrugge & Jette, 1994) and worse health outcomes (Wahl, Fange, Oswald, Gitlin, & Iwarsson, 2009).…”

VIII. Medical effects of aircraft noise: Review and literature

“…This conclusion brings us to a recommendation In the present surveys medical effects of aircraft noise could be demonstrated at a level above B = 35 (NNI = 33) It can, however, not be concluded that aircraft noise levels in the range B = 20-35 are "safe" to health Firstly, it is possible that after more than six years exposure medical effects develop in that range as well Secondly, if it may be assumed that medical effects can be caused by aircraft noise annoyance (Graeven, 1974), then medical effects at a level of B = 20-35 do exist; they are, however, difficult to trace, because they are relatively small The effect in absolute sense may be large, because much more people live in the B = 20-35 area ( 15 % of 1,000,000 is more than 25 % of 300,000) Thirdly, according to the W H O it is wrong to define health as "absence of disease" only; health includes also "well-being" and so the absence of serious aircraft noise annoyance. Therefore there is but one health recommendation: in living areas the aircraft noise should not exceed B = 20 (or NNI = 20).…”

“…From human volunteer studies (Mosskov, 1976 ; see also paper II-IV) it is known that aircraft noise can diminish mental capacity The annoyance surveys indicate that aircraft noise diminishes the possibility to communicate and can cause feelings of alienation and anxiety for many people Karagodina et al ( 1969) found a higher incidence of nervous diseases in very noisy areas Using a symptom checklist and not a direct health examination method Graeven ( 1974) concluded from his social psychological study that not the aircraft noise level itself was the most important variable for health problems, but the awareness of noise and the annoyance reactions of persons to noise. Abey-Wickrama et al ( 1969), Gattoni and Tarnopolsky ( 1973) and Tarnopolsky et al ( 1975) found a higher admission rate especially for first admissions to a psychiatric hospital in relation to aircraft noise Ettema et al ( 1974) concluded from their study that the morbidity pattern in general practices changes by aircraft noise: the number of patients with mental disorders and the taking of tranquillizers among the patients increases These results are confirmed by the new data From the general practice survey it appears that in areas with aircraft noise above B = 35 the G P is contacted more for minor and major psychological problems, at a level of B = 50 even three times as much as can be expected when there is no aircraft noise In accordance herewith the taking of sedatives increases Moreover, from the drug survey it is suggested that aircraft noise during the night has a strong impact on mental health in the daytime.…”

Population-Based Questionnaire Survey on Health Effects of Aircraft Noise on Residents Living Around U.S. Airfields in the Ryukyus—part I: An Analysis of 12 Scale Scores

“…Several studies have examined the relationship between aircraft noise exposure and self-reported symptoms [5, 14}16, 17]. Graeven [14] surveyed 552 residents in "ve di!erent noise zones including a quiet control zone around the San Francisco Airport and found a signi"cant correlation between noise awareness and annoyance and the number of health problems reported in a symptoms checklist. In the exposed area, most of the variance is explained by noise awareness and annoyance.…”