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Health impacts of noise
In October 2018, the World Health Organisation published the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Regions, offering substantial new recommendations and describing noise as a health risk rather than just being a nuisance.
The ANIMA project carried out reviews on aircraft noise impacts, focusing, in particular, on the health implications arising from aircraft noise exposure and the role of annoyance and sleep disturbance and their contribution to mediating these effects and the implications for noise management strategies.
ANIMA researchers reviewed the studies at the core of the WHO guidelines plus other studies, which had been published more recently. They carried out a systematic review of the scientific evidence used to underpin noise and health impact assessments. ANIMA researchers took a phased approach consisting of a literature review, a discussion of the basis of reported risks and the management implications and associated research gaps.
ANIMA review methodology
The review acknowledged reported associations between sleep disturbance, annoyance and specific long-term health outcomes, thus sleep disturbance and annoyance might be mediators in the causal chain from continual aircraft noise exposure to some adverse physical and mental health impacts.
Relevant information
ANIMA Noise health impacts scientific publications
Health Impacts of Aircraft Noise Exposure – AEC 2020
Recommendations on noise and health