Traffic Noise Outside the Home: HealthInsider No. 8, December 2002

Background

Noise is often described as an undesirable sound that annoys people, interferes with communication, disturbs sleep or rest or causes loss of hearing. Noise pollution can come from a number of sources, including road, rail and air traffic, construction and industrial activities, motorboats, snowmobiles and loud music.¹ However, studies have shown that the two major sources of noise are road and air traffic.²

Noise is measured in decibels (dB). An audible whisper registers about 10dB and normal conversation is measured at about 60dB. The noise level on a major road is about 75dB and the noise from a highway ranges from 80 to 90dB. In Canada, all levels of government share responsibility for the control of environmental noise.

While the risk of hearing loss from outdoor noise is negligible in people who do not work with loud equipment on a regular basis, it is possible to suffer temporary hearing loss from such noises. More importantly,noise can cause stress. Like other sources of stress, it can temporarily affect the heart rate, blood flow and may also affect the immune system and the biochemistry of the blood.³

In the last Health Insider, 51% of Canadians reported that they were slightly to extremely bothered by environmental noise and almost 8% of those who responded indicated that they were very or extremely bothered by noise from outside their home in the past 12 months. Overwhelmingly, the most bothersome type of noise was road traffic.⁴