Noise sensitivity and reactions to noise and other environmental conditions

TLDR

Noise sensitivity research has produced mixed results, with earlier reviews finding no link to exposure, evidence that it modifies annoyance responses, and indications that it affects other reactions but has limited impact on non‑environmental conditions. This paper examines three aspects of noise sensitivity: its association with noise exposure, its underlying mechanism, and the breadth of its influence. The authors analyze 28 combined datasets totaling 23,038 participants and conduct a separate study of 10,939 individuals exposed to aircraft noise. The analyses reveal only a very weak positive relationship between sensitivity and exposure, confirm that sensitivity steepens the annoyance–exposure slope, and show that sensitivity has little effect on reactions to non‑environmental conditions.

Abstract

This article integrates findings from the literature and new results regarding noise sensitivity. The new results are based on analyses of 28 combined datasets (N = 23,038), and separate analyses of a large aircraft noise study (N = 10,939). Three topics regarding noise sensitivity are discussed, namely, its relationship with noise exposure, its working mechanism, and the scope of its influence. (1) A previous review found that noise sensitivity has no relationship with noise exposure. The current analyses give consistent results, and show that there is at most a very weak positive relationship. (2) It was observed earlier that noise sensitivity alters the effect of noise exposure on noise annoyance, and does not (only) have an additive effect. The current analyses confirm this, and show that the relation of the annoyance score with the noise exposure is relatively flat for nonsensitives while it is steeper for sensitives. (3) Previous studies showed that noise sensitivity also influences reactions other than noise annoyance. The current analyses of the aircraft noise study extend these results, but also indicate that noise sensitivity has relatively little influence on reactions to nonenvironmental conditions.