Research by Huang and colleagues indicates serious negative effects of hearing traffic noise, which supports adding soundproofing materials to walls. The team shares that “Road traffic noise was estimated at baseline residential address using the common noise assessment method model. Incident hypertension was ascertained through linkage with medical records. . . . Long-term exposure to road traffic noise was associated with increased incidence of primary hypertension, and the effect estimates were stronger in presence of higher air pollution.” Data were collected over a median of more than 8 years.
Jing Huang, Teng Yang, John Gulliver, Anna Hansell, Mohammad Mamouei, Yutong Cai, and Kazem Rahimi. “Road Traffic Noise and Incidence of Primary Hypertension: A Prospective Analysis in UK Biobank.” JAAC: Advances, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacadv.2023.100262