Simply put, noise is worse for kids than adults. As with most things, excessive noise has more immediate and adverse effects on children because their bodies are still developing and thus more vulnerable to external conditions, making them more susceptible to long-term injury or impairment.
These effects can be both physical (sleep deprivation, elevated stress / anxiety, hearing impairment, etc) and intellectual (cognitive development, language acquisition, learning impairment, etc).
Children have smaller ear canals than adults, so their risk of permanent hearing loss from exposure to excessive sound levels is greater than adults exposed to the same volume level. Similarly, recurrent exposure to disruptive noise levels can affect children’s cognitive development and academic achievement, which is why loud environments inhibit learning and information retention.
And needless to say, children generally have less control over the acoustic environments they’re exposed to, whether at home or their neighborhoods, in schools, or at events or in other locations that may be excessively loud and present a risk to their health, well-being, and development.
General information and media coverage
“How traffic noise hurts children’s brains,” BBC (June 23, 2024)
“How a little more silence in children’s lives helps them grow,” National Public Radio (May 24, 2023)
“There’s an Increased Risk of Hearing Loss in Young People,” University of Miami (Feb. 2023)
“Construction noise near elementary school unacceptably loud, parents say,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Dec. 9, 2022)
“Traffic noise slows children’s memory development, study finds,” UK Guardian (June 2, 2022)
“Sounding an Alarm: Background Noise Can Hurt Student Achievement,” EducationWeek (Nov. 5, 2018)
Noise and Its Effects on Children, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2009)
“Noise Pollution Robs Kids of Language Skills,” New Scientist, (May 10, 1997)
”It’s More Than Just an Annoyance, Experts Warn; It Can Hurt Learning,” Education Week (June 5, 1991)
“Noise: Federal Program Helps Shield Some Schools Near Airports,” EducationWeek (March 21, 1984)
“Student Scores Rise After Nearby Subway Is Quieted,” New York Times (April 1982) — “The results clearly show that noise interferes with learning, and that the abatement of noise improves a child’s ability to concentrate and learn.”
Educational resources
Let’s Talk about Noise! (NoiseProject.org) — Educational activities toolkit
Sound and Noise Education Module (NY City Department of Environmental Protection) — Interactive and multi-disciplinary STEM lessons and activities that introduce students and teachers to the study of the sound environment and the public health issues, both mental and physical, associated with noise. Encourages students to collect and analyze data in their own neighborhoods.
Scientific research studies
”Social disparities in exposure to noise at public schools in the contiguous United States,” Environmental Research (May 2019) — “America’s racial / ethnic minority children bear the brunt of transportation noise exposure at school, which may unequally impact their academic performance, health, and future potential.”
“Effects of Ambient Noise on the Measurement of Mathematics Achievement for Urban High School Students,” Urban Education (Nov. 2015)
“Assessment of Noise Exposure to Children: Considerations for the National Children’s Study,” Journal of Pregnancy and Child Health (Oct. 2014) — “Noise exposure is associated with negative birth outcomes, reduced cognitive function, inability to concentrate, increased psychosocial activation, nervousness, feeling of helplessness, and increased blood pressure in children.”
“Association between Ambient Noise Exposure and School Performance of Children Living in an Urban Area: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study,” Journal of Urban Health (April 2014)
“Does noise affect learning? A short review on noise effects on cognitive performance in children,” Frontiers in Psychology (Aug. 30, 2013) — “Policymakers responsible for noise abatement should be aware of the potential impact of environmental noise on children‘s development.”
“Effects on teaching environment of noise level in school classrooms,” Journal of Environmental and Industrial Research, Vol. 67 (Sept. 2008) — Noisy classrooms can make it difficult for children to hear and understand instruction. To improve the teaching environment, authorities should take school design into consideration to reduce undesirable background noise (e.g., build sound barriers to reduce excessive traffic noise from roads adjacent to classrooms).
“The effects of environmental and classroom noise on the academic attainment of primary school children,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (Jan. 2008) — Children are particularly affected by the noise of individual external events. Negative relationships between performance and noise levels were maintained when the data were corrected for socio-economic factors relating to social deprivation, language, and special educational needs.
“Aircraft and road-traffic noise and children’s cognition and health: a cross-national study,” The Lancet (June 2005) — For every five-decibel increase in noise exposure, the reading scores of British schoolchildren dropped by the equivalent of a two-month delay, so that kids in neighborhoods that were 20 decibels louder than average were nearly a year behind children who live in quieter places.
“The Effects of Noise on Children at School: A Review,” Journal of Building Acoustics (2003)
“Chronic Noise Exposure and Physiological Response: A Prospective Study of Children Living Under Environmental Stress,“ Psychological Science 9(1): 75-77 (January 1998)