Pyoung Jik Lee

1 Introduction and Background Occupational noise exposure constitutes a significant yet often overlooked public health issue. Although the occupational noise association with hearing impairment is well-documented in industrial settings such as manufacturing [1], and construction [2], and across various occupational sectors [3], evidence from non-traditional high-noise environments remains scarce.

Abstract The relationship between transportation noise and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been established, but its specific effects on residents of multi-story buildings, who are also exposed to neighbour noise, require further investigation. This study sought to investigate the effects of transportation noise on HRQoL among adults residing in such buildings. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 participants recruited from four apartment complexes.

1. Introduction Globally more than 1.5 billion people experience some decline in their hearing capacity during their life course, of whom at least 430 million will require care (1). Hearing-impaired (HI) adults have different lifestyle and behaviors compared to normal hearing (NH) persons (2–4). In particular, HI individuals are more likely to experience emotional distress and social engagement restrictions than NH (5), and adopt more “control” and “avoidance” strategies in social situations (2).