In an environment of constant growth and omnipresent soundscapes it is almost
redundant to say that noise pollution will take on an even stronger role in future
challenges. Noise research has found negative effects not only on sleep quality and physical health it has also shown that aircraft noise has a negative effect on the reading ability of school children located in the airport neighborhood. Therefore, alongside eye movement recordings while reading under different noise conditions (analysis in progress), we retrieved sound assessment data regarding the pleasantness and arousal perceived when being exposed to different noises. Results show that an aircraft overflight approaching from the reader’s right ear, moving contrary to the reading direction, is perceived as significantly more unpleasant than an aircraft approaching from the left side moving congruently. This might indicate that the moving information implied in aircraft overflight noise is causal to the negative impact. We believe that the attention capturing effect of the moving noise source occupies mental
capacity and affects the inner attention which is engaged in the reading process.