ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Noise, which has negative effects on human-beings and community is one of the most important indoor pollutants. The aim of this study is to determine the sources and perception of residential noise, the ideas about the solutions to prevent residential noise.

Material-method:

This cross-sectional study is conducted in Eryaman residential area, and 325 households participated. A questionnaire form including 22 questions is applied to a member of each households who is ≥15 years old.

Results:

Twenty percent of the participants (65 individuals), stated that there was noise in their houses during night-time. Most of them told that the source of noise was children in their houses. 70.8 % told that they are annoyed by noise. 65.2 % of the participants complained about their neighbors' noise. The 49.0% of them told that their neighbours are talking very loudly. The most important source of noise for the people living on the first floor and the top floor was the outdoor noise (68.2 %) and elevator noise (34.3%) respectively. 56.0 % of the residents who were complaining about neighbor noise did not do anything. 60.9 % of the participants accepted that flushing and the noise coming from the taps were main sources of noise pollution, but 75.8 % of these people stated that they did nothing tu reduce the pollution.

Conclusion:

Most of the people think that they do not create noise, but their neighbors do. People are affected more by the environmental noise when compared with the household noise. It is important to train the community on the health effects of noise which is an environmental pollutant and supply their participation in decreasing noise.