Noise and perceived discomfort in Greek school children

Abstract

The survey herein aims to record the types of noise that school children frequently encounter at school (both indoors and outdoors), to investigate the degree of distress and to record the views of school children as to whether background noises distract them. In total, 594 randomly chosen children who attended fifth and sixth grade in three different regions of Greece with various population densities (Larissa, Volos and Naxos) participated in the survey. The tool used was a questionnaire properly designed for the purpose of the study.The results revealed that children of the largest city (Larissa) were more exposed to internal and external noises and also reported higher levels of perceived annoyance. Moreover, according to the study, the most common perceivable external noises were those produced by vehicles and from the voices of children in the schoolyard. Regarding indoor school noises, children appeared to be chiefly disturbed by the noises in the corridors and the neighbouring classes. Finally, children did not report any particularly negative attitude towards indoor school noise since they did not consider it fully responsible for distracting them during the lessons.