Search

Annoyance and sleep disturbance are the most common community responses to road traffic noise, and they account for the majority of the environmental noise burden in Europe. The findings of a cross-sectional study - a questionnaire survey of residents living in newly built apartment houses in some Slovak towns (Bratislava, Trencin, Martin, Piestany) are presented in this paper. The average age of the 543 respondents was 45 ± 4 years, 53 % were females, and 81 % had lived in their current home for more than five years. Traffic noise measurements on noisy facades LAeq,day = 51.8 dB to 72.4 dB, LAeq,night = 41.9 dB to 64 dB were supplemented by a standardized questionnaire. In comparison to respondents with bedroom windows facing quiet streets, those who face noisy streets are less satisfied with their quality of life, less sensitive to noise, and more irritable and restless during the day and night OR = 2.54; 95 % CI = 1.38-4.92. After the results have become completed, we hope to suggest temporary solutions for noisy apartment building facades, as well as intervention techniques, and to apply sound city planning principles.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the adverse effects of community noise on health and the response to noise exposure in residential areas of Bratislava. The study quantifies the exposure to different environmental noise sources as well as the social noise exposure in the sample of university students. The validated methodology according to ICBEN and the Ohrkan study was used. The measurement of ambient noise levels was done using hand-held sound level analyzer. There were 837 university students (256 males), average age 23.09 ± 2.23, enrolled into the study so far; 267 in the housing facility exposed to road traffic noise (LAeq = 67.6 dB) and 570 in the control one (LAeq = 53.4 dB). From the total sample 79.2% students reported the use of personal music players (PMP) in the last week in the average time of 293 minutes. There was a significant difference between the duration and frequency of listening to PMP between the exposed and the control group. There was not significant difference between the duration of time spent at activities with high noise exposure. The results of the study showed the importance of road traffic noise and the social noise for health as well and the need for a preventive action.

The significant growth in traffic density in Slovakia, combined with the country’s economic change, has resulted in new environmental noise issues, particularly in road traffic noise. The objective of this study was to assess and evaluate the impact of environmental noise on the psychosocial well-being of young healthy individuals in the two main Slovak cities of Bratislava and Kosice. To assess noise annoyance, interference with activities, and sleep disturbance, the ICBEN (The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise) anonymous validated “Noise annoyance questionnaire” was applied; noise levels were objectified by direct measurements using a sound level analyzer with a frequency analysis module. Young individuals between the ages of 20 and 30 were interviewed in Bratislava (533 respondents, 155 males) and Kosice (355 respondents, 111 males). The majority of the respondents in both cities were exposed to medium levels of road traffic noise LAeq≥ 60 dB. In Bratislava, 27.82 % of respondents resided in the higher noise exposure category LAeq≥ 70 dB, while in Kosice, 39.9 % resided in the lower noise exposure category LAeq< 50 dB. Road traffic noise annoys respondents in the higher noise exposure category in Bratislava 63.51 %, and even in the lower noise exposure category in Kosice, it interferes with reading and mental work, sleep and falling asleep 46.51 %. The study has identified traffic noise as an environmental issue in large cities, emphasizing the need for vulnerable individuals to be protected, particularly at night.

Industrial noise sources are among the environmental noise sources that are ranked second among the causes of ill health in Europe by the World Health Organization. The aim of this paper is to summarize and review of published information focusing on noise annoyance from industrial activities and mining. A search for articles was performed using the bibliographic databases platforms. The epidemiological evidence shows that environmental noise may be associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, impaired cognitive development in children, mental health, post-irritability, and sleep disturbances. As a result of efforts to minimize the effects of industrial noise on human health, the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority published A Guide to the Noise Policy for Industry in 2017, which sets out recommended noise levels, methods, and procedures for noise management based on the latest scientific evidence. Social networks can be used to assess the population's noise annoyance and to verify the effectiveness of the measures. The industrial noise sources are typically defined by low-frequency noise. Low-frequency noise has very low attenuation and is only slightly affected by obstacles, therefore it can be a major cause of night noise annoyance. An association was confirmed between exposure to low-frequency noise and sleep disturbance, psychological problems, cognitive impairment, increased social conflicts, anxiety, emotional instability, nervousness, and reduced mental performance - concentration, and visual perception. In view of the long tradition of mining and industry, the assessment of noise from these activities from the perspective of its impacts on human health is an inherent part of legislative processes. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2024;75(5)., (This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.)

Introduction: Tramway has become a serious urban noise source in densely populated areas. The disturbance from squealing noise is significant. Curve squeal is the very loud, tonal noise emitted by tram operation in tight radius curves. Studies had reported a relationship between noise levels and health effects, such as annoyance, sleep disturbance, and elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure., Materials and Methods: This study aimed to analyze the wheel squeal noise along the tramway line in Košice, Slovakia, review the effects on human health, and discuss its inclusion in the design method. To observe the influence of a track curve on noise emission, several measurement points were selected, and the noise emission was measured both in the curve and in the straight lines employing the same type of permanent way., Results: The results in the sections with the radius below 50 m were greatly affected by the presence of a squeal noise, while the resulting noise level in the sections with the radius above 50 m depended on their radius. The difference between the average values of LAeq with and without the squeal in the measurement points with the radius below 50 m was 9 dB. The difference between the measurements in the curve sections with the radius below 50 m and those in the straight line was 2.7 dB., Conclusion: The resulting noise level in general was influenced by the car velocity and the technical shape of the permanent way. These results can be used in noise prognoses and in the health effect predictions., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.