Towards Innovative Ways to Assess Annoyance

Technological changes have driven the developments in the field of noise annoyance research. It helped to increase knowledge on the topic substantially. It also provides opportunities to conduct novel research. The introduction of the internet, the mobile phone, and miniaturisation and improved sensor technology are at the core of the three research examples presented in this chapter. The first example is the use of a Virtual Reality simulation to evaluate aircraft flyovers in different environments, and it examines how visual perception influences noise annoyance. The second example describes the use of a mobile application applying an Experience Sampling Method to assess noise annoyance for a group of people living near an airport. The third and final example is a study over social media discussions in relation to noise annoyance and quality of life around airports. These three examples demonstrate how novel technologies help to collect and analyse data from people who live around airports, and so improve our understanding of the effect of noise on humans

Reducing noise impact and improving quality of life by addressing annoyance

Aircraft noise is the most significant impact on communities residing near airports. But in addition to acoustical factors, non-acoustical factors also contribute to noise annoyance. In the ANIMA project, relevant indicators influencing the quality of life of residents living near an airport are identified. Literature studies, but also focus group meetings, workshops, and online surveys for communities near altogether nine different European airports are performed to understand the role of the airport and the implications on the well-being of citizens. Furthermore, it is intended to study what current communication strategies of the airports are and how they influence the impact of aircraft noise on residents’ annoyance response and well-being. A detailed literature study as well as a re-analysis of data has been carried out to develop awakenings indicators for nocturnal fly-overs, as noise-induced sleep disturbance has been linked to adverse health effects and is also associated with annoyance. Another study will be conducted to understand human visual perception of aircraft and their noise levels using a noise simulator with Virtual Reality glasses, where different aircraft types and their noise impact will be compared in a laboratory study and later in an “in situ” experiment. Finally, people’s perception of environmental sound near the airport and the relation with land use planning will be evaluated by developing a mobile application to be used around Heathrow and Ljubljana Airport. Together with a carefully crafted social media study, data on property-value and movement of people throughout the day, we hope to establish more evidence on the relationship between land-use planning, noise perception and quality of life. The outcomes of all studies will be tested later in intervention studies and, or integrated into a Best-Practice portal that will be available for airports, governments, communities, and other stakeholders