This 2021 FAA report analyzes the Neighborhood Environmental Survey (NES), a large-scale study examining how aircraft noise affects communities around 20 U.S. commercial airports. Researchers surveyed over 10,000 residents and found that annoyance with aircraft noise increases steadily as noise levels rise, with significantly more people reporting high annoyance than older studies had suggested. The findings provide an updated national curve showing the relationship between measured noise exposure (DNL) and community annoyance, which can inform airport noise policy decisions.Open full document
Notes
The FAA conducted a multi-year research effort to quantify the impacts of aircraft noise exposure on communities around commercial service airports in the United States. The Neighborhood Environmental Survey (NES) collected data from over 10,000 adult residents living near 20 U.S. airports to develop a nationally representative dose-response curve relating aircraft noise exposure (DNL) to community annoyance. Results showed substantially more people highly annoyed at given DNL levels compared to prior studies.