Almost 1 in 10 Antwerp residents constantly hears noise at home that is as loud as a vacuum cleaner according to a new noise study conducted by the City of Antwerp and the Port Authority. About 8 per cent of residents are continuously exposed to an average of 70 decibels the daily Gazet van Antwerpen reports.
Nearly 10% of Antwerpians confronted with noise as loud as a hoover all day long
Colin Clapson
Published:
About 70 decibels, or the sound of a vacuum cleaner: that is the average noise to which 8 per cent of Antwerp residents are constantly exposed. The scale of the problem is revealed on a new noise map from the City of Antwerp and the Port Authority.
Around the Antwerp Ring Road and the Leien, the noise map colours dark red. "In places where there is a lot of traffic, it is naturally louder. The further away from the Ring, the quieter it gets," explains Tatjana Scheck (Flemish socialist/Vooruit), Antwerp alderman for the environment.
Traffic creates the most noise. "This is why in the city we have already experimented with ways to reduce noise from traffic. At the Posthof Bridge in Berchem, for example, we have installed a ‘quiet road surface’."
A quiet road surface has small grooves that muffle the sound of tyres on the road surface. The city is looking at installing it elsewhere too.
No surprising results
The results of the study are in line with expectations. "Street noise always amounts to around 70 decibels. By comparison, a normal conversation creates around 60 decibels," explains Professor Laure Jacquemin, clinical audiologist at Antwerp University Hospital.
The University of Antwerp is investigating whether continuous exposure to noise is harmful to our health or quality of life. "It could make us more stressed, which is obviously bad for our health. In terms of hearing damage, I can at least reassure you. You won't get that from these levels of noise. Your hearing will suffer only from the moment you are exposed to more than 85 decibels for a very long period of time."
The audiologist stresses that 70 decibels can be very disturbing for people who are hypersensitive to noise. "They experience sound much more strongly than it actually is. This takes place at the brain level. In the brain of hypersensitive people, alarm signals go off faster," Jacquemin says.
Antwerp residents confirm the results of the noise study. "I lived in Berchem for 2 years and got really annoyed. The noise is a lot louder there than where I live now, at the Zuid. The more you focus on the noise, the louder it gets," says one Antwerp resident.
"We constantly hear the sound of the motorway and passing cars. Of course: if you live in the city, you make a choice, so we just have to accept it," says another man who lives close to the Antwerp Ring Road.
No huge number of complaints
The city does not receive inordinate numbers of complaints about noise pollution. "This constant noise at the level of a hoover, many residents mainly experience it subconsciously so we don't get direct complaints about that," says Alderman Scheck.
"However, it can cause disquiet. The city monitor shows that around 40 per cent of residents are sometimes bothered by traffic noise. You don't necessarily notice that noise consciously, but it is still detrimental to people’s general well-being in the city."