AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF RESIDENTIAL ACOUSTIC INSULATION ON PREVALENCE OF ANNOYANCE IN AN AIRPORT COMMUNITY

A social survey was undertaken to compare the prevalence of noise-induced annoyance in two residential populations with similar aircraft noise exposure in the vicinity of Hartsfield International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia. One population was composed of residents of homes that had been treated to increase their acoustic transmission loss. The other population was composed of residents of homes that had not been so treated. No clear benefits of home noise insulation was observed in terms of lowered prevalence of annoyance to aircraft noise exposure.