The World Health Organization reports that excessive (aircraft and road traffic) noise is unhealthy and creates a harsher environment for work and home. From the report “CONCLUSION: School children exposed to elevated noise level had significantly decreased attention, and social adaptability, and increasing opposing behavior in comparison to school children who were not exposed to elevated noise levels.”
Article: http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/noise.pdf
Huge “NORAH” study in Germany finds significant delay in children’s reading due to impact of aircraft noise
One of the largest and most extensive studies on the impact of aircraft noise on health, and on children’s education has been done in Germany.
Frankfurt, 4 November 2014. Children living in areas exposed to high levels of aviation noise learn to read more slowly than children living in quiet locations.
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American Journal of Epidemiology
Exposure-Effect Relations between Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise Exposure at School and Reading Comprehension
“There were three main findings. Firstly, a linear exposure-effect relation was found between aircraft noise exposure at school and impaired reading comprehension… Secondly, the effect of aircraft noise on reading comprehension could not be accounted for by sociodemographic variables… Thirdly, there was no evidence of a relation between road traffic noise at school and reading comprehension.”
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International Journal of Comparative Psychology
The Effect of Transportation Noise on Health and Cognitive Development:A Review of Recent Evidence
“In summary, there is convincing evidence for non-auditory effects of noise on health and cognition for some outcomes. Evidence for the effect of aircraft noise on children’s cognitive performance is strong. Evidence for health outcomes is increasing and there is consistent evidence for a small but significant effect of transport noise on hypertension and coronary heart disease. Furthermore, there is sufficient evidence for an effect of noise on sleep disturbance.”
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The Lancet (UK)
British Researchers Show Linear Exposure-Effect Association Between Exposure to Chronic Aircraft Noise and Impairment of Reading Comprehension in Children
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