Abstract
This paper describes the effects to sufferers of exposure to low frequency
noise in the UK. Low frequency noise is now a recognised problem
in many countries in the world and although a relatively small number
of people are affected, those who are tend to suffer severe distress.
In most situations a single sufferer, or perhaps a couple living
in the same property, is affected but occasionally a cluster of complaints
arises in a particular area. Human reaction to sound is known to
be dependent not just on the sound itself, but on a complex array
of other factors including personal associations with the sound.
In undertaking a project, funded by Defra, to develop a procedure
to assess low frequency noise complaints, we complimented the physical
recordings of low frequency sounds in homes with questionnaires and
interviews with the sufferers themselves to determine whether sociological
or other factors might influence the results. From this we obtained
a significant amount of personal data about the individuals themselves.
This gave a significant overview of the background to the LFN complaint
that might have a bearing on the responses. In this paper we discuss
the rationale for collecting details about individuals' residential
and occupational histories, their general health, details of the
noise they are exposed to, suspected sources of the noise, effects
of the noise on themselves and their health, and any measures they
have taken to cope with or avoid the noise. We demonstrate that many
complainants have ongoing problems which they associate with low
frequency noise, and which have a fairly serious impact on their
lives. We show how these sociological factors have been incorporated
into a 'Procedure for the assessment of low frequency noise complaints'
to be used by local authorities and argue that the answers to the
questions developed help local authorities distinguish cases where
they should act from those where they can do nothing to help.
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