noise pollution

Traffic noise is a serious problem in Germany, where surveys show that traffic-noise pollution has declined only marginally over the past decade. A statistically significant proportion of the German population is exposed to a sufficiently high level of noise pollution for this factor to constitute a probable health risk.

Being ubiquitous, sound is a pivotal dimension of our society, but is often intrusive, disturbing and/or unpleasant. The biological functions of our body enable us to generate and process sound. For example, we need sound for communication. And while the term refers to what we are able to hear, noise connotes how we experience sound.