Subjective response to noise in rural villages,particularly from road traffic

Subjective response to noise, particularly from road traffic, arising from 10 villages in rural Hampshire and Wiltshire is compared with response from a previous survey carried out on a representative sample of adults resident in England. This English sample consisted of individuals occupying, for the most part, urban and suburban areas. The background (ambient) levels of noise experienced were, on the whole, lower in the rural study; especially at sites exposed to most traffic. There was no evidence of a difference in dose/response relationships between the two studies with respect to road traffic noise.