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World Health Organization

The World Health Organization has long recognized environmental noise as a public health concern and has developed guidelines to address its effects on health and well-being.

Guidelines for Community Noise (1999)

In 1999, the World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), published a report titled Guidelines for Community Noise, which addressed noise pollution as a significant public health concern.

The report describes how noise pollution can produce both direct and cumulative adverse health effects by degrading residential, social, working, and learning environments. It was intended to provide guidance to environmental health authorities on protecting populations from the harmful effects of urban noise.

The WHO identified seven broad categories of adverse health effects associated with noise exposure:

1. Hearing impairment
2. Interference with spoken communication
3. Sleep disturbances
4. Cardiovascular disturbances
5. Disturbances in mental health
6. Impaired task performance
7. Negative social behavior and annoyance reactions

While noise pollution can affect individuals of all ages, the report identified certain populations as more vulnerable, including infants, children, individuals with mental or physical illnesses, and older adults.

Environmental Noise Guidelines (2018)

In 2018, the World Health Organization published updated Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, synthesizing evidence from hundreds of epidemiological and experimental studies on transportation and community noise.

The guidelines conclude that long-term exposure to road traffic, rail, and aircraft noise is associated with increased risks of sleep disturbance, high annoyance, and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The WHO emphasizes that nighttime noise is particularly harmful, as it can disrupt sleep and activate stress responses even when individuals are not consciously awakened.

The report recommends population-level noise reduction policies and reinforces the position that environmental noise is a public health risk requiring preventive action.