Perception of noise in suburban and urban areas

Abstract

This work analyses, using a comparative approach, the environmental noise perception in the daily lives of inhabitants of a residential area, with that of a mixed (residential and commercial) area (downtown), in a large Latin America city. The goal was to confront an ideal urban environment with one acoustically polluted, as function of noise descriptors. Concomitant with the evaluation of noise perception (subjective analysis), noise levels were measured (objective analysis) in both areas. The single average equivalent noise level (Leq) found for downtown was 73 dB(A), and 53 dB(A) for the residential area. A random sample of the populations of both areas was taken, through a questionnaire. Questionnaire data was treated statistically through a factorial multivariate analysis. This analysis has generated three statistical indicators: time perception, atypical noise perception, and sources and disturbances. Over 50% of both populations sampled have the perception that high frequency noise levels are gradually increasing, with higher contribution from traffic noise. The dominant organic effects reported were irritability and loss of concentration ability, these last being precursors of hearing loss.