Using mathematical models to predict annoyance from combined noise sources in the city of Dubai

Residents of major cities of the United Arab Emirates are exposed to multiple noise sources originating from road traffic, aircraft flyovers and various industrial activities. Predicting the contribution of each of these sources to public annoyance, and hence relating it to health effects on residents of these cities, is not an easy task because of the complex nature of these sources and their subjective contribution to community annoyance. In this paper, we report preliminary results of applying mathematical models to assess annoyance due to combined sources using data obtained from noise level measurements in combination with social surveys conducted near the selected sites. The models are based on the 24-h average sound levels LAeq, 24h and the measured annoyance scores for aircraft, road traffic, and combined noise. Models are based on the assumption that the annoyance caused by combined noise sources can be predicted by the total energy and separate sources make independent contributions to the total annoyance. Our results show that annoyance due to aircraft noise was slightly modified by additional road traffic noise. The results also indicate that road traffic noise exposure and annoyance were more dominant than those of aircraft noise at most sites.