Project outline
This project is focused on neighbour noise: the noise you hear at home, coming from others inside their homes.
The World Health Organisation recognises the non-auditory health effects from low intensity but chronic noise exposure due to physiological and psychological stress responses and sleep disruption. Social surveys consistently show that neighbour noise and road traffic noise are the two most common sources of noise that people report being annoyed or disturbed by. Population health impacts due to transportation noise have been mapped, but neighbour noise research has lagged behind due to the complexity of establishing exposure-response relationships. The impact due to neighbour noise could be far greater than road traffic noise due to:
- a wider range of spectral and temporal characteristics to cause annoyance or disturbance
- a ‘fight or flight’ response to alarming or intrusive noise
- high information content which humans evolved to have their attention drawn to, even at a low decibel level
Domestic neighbour noise is one of the most common complaints that local authorities investigate in terms of statutory nuisance.
This project aims to provide a basis for estimating the public health risk to the UK population caused by neighbour noise and help local authorities target their resources most effectively. Homes are increasingly our workplaces too, so this research has the potential to support productivity.
The first phase of data collection is underway with a short anonymous questionnaire to identify the types of neighbour noise that are most prevalent and which tend to be more annoying or intrusive than others.
Project Partners
This project is hosted at the University of Salford and is supported by DEFRA.
Student
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Rebecca Hutt
Rebecca is part of Cohort 1 at the University of Salford.