Differences in Perceptions of the Urban Acoustic Environment in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Several policies have been developed to improve the quality of life for older adults in cities, with soundscape being one of the factors that most influence general comfort. This work aims to present a systematic review based on PRISMA methodology, of the existing scientific literature that identifies the differences in sensitivity, noise annoyance, acoustic comfort, and urban soundscape preference of the elders with the rest of the population. Soundscape evaluation is a complex issue, understood as the relationship between human beings and the acoustic environment, based on sound, environment, and people’s perceptions of those. Among the personal variables, age is related to physiological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that lead to evaluate urban soundscape in a certain way. Our results show that the greatest difference among older adults and other age groups is presented on noise annoyance and the least differences were presented on sound level evaluation. More research is needed in this field, to achieve comfortable urban areas through soundscape design which should be pleasant and inclusive for all, including elders as a vulnerable group, and contribute to improving their health and quality of life.