Temporal trends in aircraft noise annoyance

Several recently published studies have investigated potential temporal trends in aircraft noise annoyance. Some of these studies suggest that people nowadays react more strongly to aircraft noise – by as much as an order of magnitude – than they did in the 1960s. Other studies have failed to detect such a trend, or attributed it to differences in survey methods, noise estimation methods, airport operations, and other factors that do not affect energy-weighted exposure levels. This paper analyzes Community Tolerance Level (CTL) values from 57 studies on aircraft noise annoyance conducted between 1961 and 2014 for trends over time. Conclusions of analyses of temporal trends were found to be highly dependent on classification of studies based on the occurrence or anticipation of a step change in the noise exposure situation. Most studies of community reaction to actual or anticipated step changes in aircraft noise exposure have been conducted relatively recently, and report less tolerance for noise. Inclusion of such studies in temporal trend analyses produces questionable conclusions about increases in aircraft noise-induced annoyance over time. The current study found no evidence suggesting a need to revise existing dose-response curves to reflect a putative trend toward greater sensitivity to noise exposure in recent decades.