Predicting the Effects of Noise exposure on Activity Disturbance

The aims of this study were to investigate the covariation between the extent of activity disturbances and general annoyance, and to study the relation between the extent of annoyance reactions and noise sensitivity. This paper presents a description of a model developed by taking into account self-rated noise sensitivity and noise rating(i,e., annoyance) for road traffic. The results indicate that there are large variations in noise sensitivity which is independent on the level of noise. It is also found that the extent of all activity disturbances decreased with decreased general annoyance. The paper suggests a normative approach to predicting individual's reaction to noise exposure, based on a periodically observed relationship between the prevalence of activity disturbance and annoyance. The model also predicts a road traffic-noise adaptatin level for each individual.