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Health & Environment

World Health Organization

Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 1 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 2 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 3 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 4 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 5 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Part 6 
Guidelines for Community Noise – Appendix 
The Guidelines for Community Noise have been prepared as a practical response to the need for action on community noise at the local level, as well as the need for improved legislation, management and guidance at the national and regional levels.
Birgitta Berglund, Thomas Lindvall, Dietrich H. Schwela
World Health Organization 1999 PDF

Night Noise Guidelines for Europe 
This book reviews the health effects of exposure to night-time noise, examines dose-effect relations, and presents interim and ultimate guideline values for exposure. Intended for policy-makers in reducing the effects of night-time noise, thus helping to improve the health of the people in Europe.
World Health Organization 2009 PDF

Summary of Adverse Health Effects of Noise Pollution 
Based on the World Health Organization Guideline for Community Noise.
Louis Hagler, MD 2005 PDF

Expanded Summary of Adverse Health Effects of Noise Pollution 
An expanded summary from the World Health Organization Guideline for Community Noise.
Louis Hagler, MD 2005 PDF

National Institutes of Health

Editorial: Noise and Health 
Noise affects everybody in everyday life. However, human organisms are not prepared to shut off the noise.
Environmental Health Perspectives; National Institutes of Health 2005 PDF

Decibel Hell: The Effects of Living in a Noisy World 
Certain sound exposures are not only annoying but can also produce a range of adverse physiological effects and affect learning ability.
Environmental Health Perspectives; National Institutes of Health 2005 PDF

Noise and Health of Children 
Children may adversely affected by noise than adults, in part because they possess less well-developed coping responses, and are often less able to control their environments. It is unknown to which extent aggressive behaviour, helplessness, and hyperactivity are a consequence of noise exposure.
W. Passchier-Vermeer
Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) 2000 PDF

Monitoring Vibroacoustic Disease 
Vibroacoustic disease (VAD) is a whole-body pathology caused by excessive exposure to low frequency noise (LFN). VAD has been observed
in military and commercial pilots and aircrew, and in a civilian population exposed to environmental LFN.
Nuno A. A. Castelo Branco, Augusto J. F. Martinho Pimenta, JosÈ M. Reis Ferreira, Mariana Alves-Pereira
Vibroacoustic Disease Project 2002 PDF

Vibroacoustic Disease (VAD) 
Low frequency noise exposure causes thickening of cardiovascular structures. Indeed, pericardial thickening with no inflammatory process, and in the absence of diastolic dysfunction, is the hallmark of VAD. Depressions, increased irritability and aggressiveness, a tendency for isolation, and decreased cognitive skills are all part of the clinical picture of VAD.
N. A. A. Castelo Branco, M. Alves-Pereira
Noise and Health 2004 PDF

Impact of Noise on Health: The Divide between Policy and Science 
Urbanization have raised the decibel levels in our communities, especially with the growth in transportation on the roads, on the rails and in the air, as well as the growth of noise polluting products. While noise complaints top the list of complaints in cities, there is no movement globally to address the problem.
Arline L. Bronzaft
Open Journal of Social Sciences 2017 PDF