Review of auditory and non-auditory outcomes reported in environmental noise research

What they studied

A narrative review in a general medical journal synthesizing epidemiological and experimental research on environmental and occupational noise.

Exposure sources reviewed include road, rail, and aircraft noise, occupational noise, and leisure noise.

Outcomes reviewed span noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep disturbance, annoyance, cognitive performance in children, and cardiovascular endpoints.

What they found

The authors reported that noise-induced hearing loss remains the best-established auditory outcome of sustained high-level exposure.

For non-auditory outcomes, the review reported consistent associations between long-term transportation-noise exposure and sleep disturbance and annoyance, and reported evidence of association with cardiovascular endpoints that the authors characterized as growing.

The review reported that night-time exposure is treated separately from daytime exposure because sleep disturbance is measured against night-time levels.

What it does not establish

A narrative review, not a pooled quantitative analysis; strength of evidence varies by outcome.

Most exposure data concern outdoor transportation noise at the façade, not measured indoor levels.

Observational associations do not establish causation for the non-auditory outcomes.

This entry reports the review. It is not a statement about any building Sage Co. designs or constructs.