THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE EXPOSURE AND ANNOYANCE

Exposure to road - traffic noise commonly engenders annoyance, the extent of which is determined by factors not fully understood. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and determinants of road - traffic noise annoyance in taxi drivers in Qazvin.
Material and This study was performed on 98 drivers of a selected route in Qazvin (all married). Equivalent noise levels [Leq (dB A)] were measured during day and evening in all streets of the route. According to ISO 9612: 2009, 8 h equivalent noise level [Leq8h (dB A)] were measured. Noise annoyance was estimated using self - reported annoyance scale.
Noise annoyance showed strong correlation with noise levels and personal characteristics. The strongest correlation was found between the percentage of highly annoyed drivers and evening noise level (OR = 2.4). Logistic regression model identified increased risk for a high level of noise annoyance with regard to: age (OR = 0.95), smoking habit (OR = 1.9), educational status (OR = 0.026) and driving experience (OR = 2.1).
A considerable proportion of taxi drivers are highly annoyed by road - traffic noise, and perceive it to be a significant health risk. Knowledge of health risks of road - traffic noise, are associated with noise annoyance. There is necessity to establish an acceptable level of exposure noise for taxi drivers.