How the COVID-19 pandemic influenced noise annoyance perception? A case study of Poznan, Poland

Abstract

Abstract A worldwide COVID-19 spread effected in many limitations in social life and made people spend much more time at their homes. This phenomenon had its reflection in changes in traffic intensity, social activities and other aspects of our life, influencing also our perception of noise in the place of living. In this research, we wanted to find out how people rate noise annoyance while being at home during the 3rd wave of the pandemic in Poland in spring of 2021. We asked inhabitants of Poznań about their feelings and attitudes towards noise, we also wanted them to rate noise annoyance of several different noise sources both before and during a lockdown. Our study shows that almost 80% of respondents found the noise as annoying and only 11% of them thought that noise was less annoying during the pandemic. There was a statistically significant difference in ratings for aircraft noise and events – both of them were rated lower during a lockdown. Among people who felt that noise was less annoying, also road traffic noise was rated lower significantly. On the other hand, people who claimed that noise became more annoying boosted their ratings of neighbouring noise. All these facts support a theory that the pandemic had a direct and significant influence on our perception of noise.