Aviation noise is likely the cause of as many health problems as traffic, rail, and other transportation noise. Late last year, the Parliament of Australia’s Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport handed down its report on the “Impact and mitigation of aircraft noise”.
The Committee drew upon international evidence of harm, and included personal testimonies, some of which I have copied below to outline the extent of the problem. The Committee formed the view that:
Regular or prolonged exposure to aircraft noise may have detrimental impacts on people’s health. This includes possible stress and annoyance, cardiovascular impacts, sleep disturbance and, potentially, impacting cognitive function.
Australian testimonies of plane noise
The Committee held community consultations during which, one of the city councils commented that:
Aircraft noise is one of the most detrimental side effects of aviation. The effect of aircraft noise on affected communities is not just limited to annoyance and sleep disturbance, but includes impacts such as anxiety, depression, heart disease and cognitive impairment as well as poorer educational outcomes in children.
Disturbance of sleep and concentration
Personal testimony of annoyance and disturbance from aviation noise include the following:
Trying to concentrate and meet work deadlines with relentless aircraft noise at all hours of the day and night is incredibly stressful… The noise generated and high numbers of low-flying aircraft that I’ve experienced is nerve-shattering. Any relaxation, indoors or outdoors, at my home will be interrupted by the high frequency and/or low-altitude of aircraft… To be experiencing this level of aircraft noise impact when I don’t even live in close proximity to any airport, is just extraordinary… To describe this noise pollution as an ‘annoyance’, as AA describes aircraft noise on its website, massively understates the impact—this situation far exceeds ‘annoyance’. It is more accurately described as an assault on the mental and physical health and well-being of affected residents.
Sleep disturbance was a major concern of those who live near to airports, including very disturbing psychological impacts:
On one particular occasion in May 2022, I was woken suddenly from a deep sleep by a deafening roar and the room filled with lights from an aircraft. We are off grid so there’s no ambient light. Due to this sudden high-alert disturbance, I experienced palpitations and felt panic, assuming a plane was going to crash into the bluff.
Cognitive and mental health impacts
The cognitive and mental health impacts of aviation noise was particularly disturbing in respect of children. Students in schools situated under flight paths appear to have worse outcomes for children’s learning and cognition. For example:
BFPCA cited research over two decades indicating that excessive, prolonged aircraft noise slows children’s cognitive development and reading skills by 10 per cent, and may have negative lifelong effects. In response to community surveys, some parents reported that their children were not doing as well at school, their progress in learning new skills had slowed, and their test results were lower than before.
Is there a solution?
The Committee provided some recommendations, but acknowledged that like with other transport noise, there is little to be done that would not significantly impact the aviation industry. Hopefully individuals will be able to ameliorate the noise impact in small ways with newer research into psychological and acoustic solutions like urban greening, biophilic design, and sound masking.
Read the full report here.