Research article summary (published 29 Jun 2009):

Annoyance from environmental noise across the lifespan.

Full Abstract

Curvilinear effects of age on self-reported annoyance from environmental noise were investigated in a pooled international and a Dutch sample of in total 62,983 individuals aged between 15 and 102 years. All respondents were frequently exposed to varying levels of transportation noise (i.e., aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise). Results reveal an inverted U-shaped pattern, where the largest number of highly annoyed individuals was found in the middle-aged segment of the sample (peaking around 45 years) while the lowest number was found in the youngest and oldest age segments. This pattern was independent of noise exposure level and self-reported noise sensitivity. The inverted U-shape explains the absence of linear age effects in previous studies. The results are discussed in light of theories predicting an age-related vulnerability to noise.

Author information

Author/s: Van Gerven, Pascal W M (PW); Vos, Henk (H); Van Boxtel, Martin P J (MP); Janssen, Sabine A (SA); Miedema, Henk M E (HM);

Affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. p.vangerven(-atsign-)maastrichtuniversity.nl

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (J Acoust Soc Am), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 126 (issue 1) : pp 187-94

Dates: Created 2009/07/16; Completed 2009/09/28;

PMID: 19603876, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 9/28/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adolescent Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Aging Aircraft Auditory Perception Automobiles Culture

Culture Emotions Environment Humans Middle Aged Models, Psychological Noise, Transportation Railroads Young Adult

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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