A survey (n . 1150) was conducted to relate both individual subjective responses to traffic noise (e.g. Annoyance) and respondents' health to traffic noise and to other nonacoustical predictors. Between 16% and 25% of the variance in subjective responses was accountedfor by traffic noise level. Although many of the nonacoustical predictors were related to subjective responses, canonical correlations indicated that neighborhood satisfaction, anxiety, and concern abouttraffic accidents were most important. Negative responses increasedwith anxiety and concern about accidents but decreased with satisfaction. Whereas low-anxiety residents adapted to the noise, high-anxiety residents did not. Residents exposed to greater noise reported poorer health (e.g. Hearing loss, headaches, colds) and believed morestrongly that traffic noise was harmful to their health. (A)
Abstract