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Is my neighbour’s noise harming my health?

Noise can be a source of annoyance – but could it even be damaging to our health?

As millions more of us move to live in densely populated cities, we almost inevitably face living in closer proximity to our neighbours. Neighbour noise can certainly be a source of annoyance – but could it even be damaging to our health?
Increasing evidence suggests that unwanted noise can cause sleep deprivation, distraction and annoyance, as presenter Anand Jagatia finds out. He discovers that noise annoyance has a small but significant impact on our wider health – including our cardiovascular system – but that annoyance is not necessarily down to sound alone. Factors such as perception of the neighbourhood and relationships with our neighbours also play a part.
CrowdScience has examined living with unwanted noises before, and we revisit our trip to the acoustics lab at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK. Here, we meet the researchers and engineers investigating the best ways to make our homes more pleasant for our ears whilst still maintaining the ‘buzz’ of city life.
Contributors:

Contributors:
Professor Charlotte Clark, St George’s University of London
Professor Trevor Cox, University of Salford Manchester
Professor Bill Davies, University of Salford Manchester
Dr Mags Adams, University of Central Lancashire (formerly University of Salford Manchester, at time of recording)

Produced by Jen Whyntie and presented by Anand Jagatia for the Â鶹ԼÅÄ World Service.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 31 May 2021 12:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 28 May 2021 19:32GMT
  • Sat 29 May 2021 01:32GMT
  • Sun 30 May 2021 01:32GMT
  • Mon 31 May 2021 03:32GMT
  • Mon 31 May 2021 04:32GMT
  • Mon 31 May 2021 08:32GMT
  • Mon 31 May 2021 12:32GMT

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