Summary:

A substantial proportion of the population living near airports feel annoyed by aircraft noise or fear damage to their health. However, the available evidence varies widely for the different health effects.

This chapter is based on two recent literature reviews: TheWHO commissioned several teams of experts to conduct systematic reviews on environmental noise and annoyance, cardiovascular and metabolic effects, sleep, cognition, quality of life and mental illness, hearing loss and tinnitus, and pregnancy and childbirth. These assessed measures of association from the literature up to 2015 and served as the basis for updating European noise guidelines. A team led by Charité evaluated publications from 1990 to 2018 using standardized evaluation criteria as part of a systematic literature search. In addition to the effects studied by theWHO , correlations of aircraft noise with stress hormones, cancer, and the economic consequences were analyzed, and assessments of further literature published up to 2020 were added.

Overall, statistically validated associations between aircraft noise exposure and effects exist

on self-reported perceived annoyance,
on the cardiovascular system (ischemic heart disease and hypertension),
on sleep (waking reactions, sleep quality), and
on children's ability to learn to read.

Exposure-response relationships are available for the association between aircraft noise and the above effects (1) through (4), making population-based risk estimates possible. There are some indications for effects on other organ systems and clinical pictures, but these are currently not sufficiently substantiated.

Source: ecomed Medizin