Annoyance and sleep disturbance due to traffic noise: a comparison with WHO exposure-response functions

Background and Aim Traffic noise is omnipresent. Annoyance and sleep disturbance due to road, rail, and aircraft noise in Leipzig, Germany were investigated. Methods Traffic noise-related annoyance and sleep disturbance were collected in the LIFE cohort study (2018-2021) and linked to address-specific traffic noise data (LDEN/LNight). Information on noise-related disturbances to falling asleep, sleeping at night, and staying asleep, as well as annoyance from each traffic noise source, were obtained using ISO/TS-15666 standards. Answers ranged from "not at all" to "extremely disturbed". "Highly" and "extremely disturbed” individuals were defined as "highly annoyed" and "highly sleep disturbed". Logistic regressions were used for the association between high annoyance/sleep disturbance and traffic noise. The percentage of highly annoyed and sleep disturbed for all three traffic noise sources were modelled. Results were compared to WHO reviews for annoyance (Guski et al. 2017) and sleep disturbance (Basner & McGuire 2018). Results The increase in risk (per 10 dB) was most pronounced for aircraft noise (annoyance (LDEN): ORair=12.65; 95% CI 9.37-17.10; sleep disturbance (LNight): ORair=19.66; 95%CI 11.47-33.71). Risk estimates for road and rail noise were increased for annoyance (ORroad=3.55; 95%CI 2.78-4.53; ORrail=3.31; 95%CI 2.77-3.97) and sleep disturbance (ORroad=2.86; 95%CI 1.92-4.28; ORrail=2.68; 95% CI 1.92-4.28). Exposure-response curves for annoyance due to road and rail noise were lower than the corresponding curves in the WHO review, and were higher for aircraft noise. The curves for high sleep disturbance due to road noise were comparable, but the proportion of highly sleep-disturbed persons was lower for rail noise and higher for aircraft noise compared to the WHO review. Conclusions The higher proportion of highly annoyed and sleep disturbed at given aircraft noise levels compared with the WHO reviews may indicate changing noise effects over time. Our results underscore the need for improved noise control. Keywords Annoyance, sleep disturbance, traffic noise