Environmental noise

Environmental noise is exposure is the amount of noise people experience from sources such as road traffic, railways and aircraft. In Ireland, more than 1 million people are exposed to road traffic noise above EU reporting levels with many people potentially affected by its long-term impacts on health and wellbeing.

Noise and your health

Long-term exposure to environmental noise can:

• seriously harm your health, including your mental health;
• interfere with your daily activities at school, at work, at home and during leisure time;
• contribute towards heart disease and psychophysiological effects, and
• reduce performance through sleep deprivation, provoke feelings of annoyance and anger and some changes in behaviour.

Exposure to environmental noise from road traffic, railways, aircraft and industry contribute every year to about 48,000 new cases of heart disease, and 12,000 premature deaths (EEA, 2020b).

The chart below shows some common noise levels for outdoor and indoor activities.

Assessment of the effects of noise on health

The Environmental Noise Directive (END) includes methods of assessing how long-term exposure to environmental noise can affect people's health and wellbeing.

These assessments look at:

• People who are highly annoyed by noise from roads, railways and aircraft.
• People whose sleep is seriously disturbed by noise from roads, railways and aircraft.
• Cases of heart-disease linked to long-term road traffic noise exposure.

Results from Ireland's latest noise mapping show that road traffic noise is a particular concern in urban areas. In Dublin, Cork and Limerick around 8% of people were estimated to be highly annoyed by road traffic noise, while approximately 2% were estimated to experience significant sleep disturbance. Areas outside these cities also experienced impacts, although at lower levels.

These assessments help policymakers understand how environmental noise affects communities and identify measures that can reduce its impact on public health and wellbeing.

You can learn more about the current state of Ireland's environment and environmental noise in Ireland’s State of the Environment Report 2024 - Chapter 3 - Environmental Noise