Research Report: Noise Pollution Near Muscat and Sohar Airports

This research report investigates the adverse effects of noise pollution emanating from Muscat International Airport and Sohar Airport on nearby residents, with a specific focus on children. The study explores the research problem, research question, and research aim. The research aims to determine the level of noise that leads to complaints from local residents. The study employs an experimental approach, collecting data from clinical records and school reports to assess the impact of noise pollution on cardiovascular conditions, depression, mental and nervous problems, and school performance. The findings, presented through tables and pie charts, reveal a higher prevalence of health issues and poor school performance among children living close to the airports. The report highlights the associations between noise pollution and health risks, and the need for policy amendments based on these findings. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the research design, methodology, data analysis, and key findings, offering valuable insights into the impact of airport noise on the health and well-being of local communities.

Research Methods
Student’s Name
Institution
Date

Introduction
Noise pollution of environmental objects is an interesting and urgent problem, especially
for residents who live close to Muscat international airport and Sohar airport. Some of the
existing airports in our country were built relatively long ago, and as a result of the expansion of
the borders of cities, they ended up in the zone of residential areas. Among these airports is
Muscat international airport and Sohar airport, it is located directly within the city, its runway is
located 500 meters from the nearest residential wooden one-story houses (Al Harthy and Ba
Omar 2019). Under the influence of ground-based operation of aircraft engines, the sound
pressure level in residential areas is much higher than permissible. And although some believe
that noise is an invariable companion of our lives, and there’s nowhere to get away from it, its
excessive level needs to be regulated and possible measures taken to reduce it, since the harmful
effects of noise affect human health (Trojanek, et al 2017). The Ministry of Health warns: the
number of deaf people in Oman is growing every day. Therefore, the noise safety problem of a
modern city can be considered relevant. It has been established that the reactions of the human
body to acoustic stimuli are diverse and depend on the frequency of sound waves, intensity and
duration. Sounds with frequencies of 40 kHz violate the neuro-sensory structures of the inner ear,
without damaging the eardrum and middle ear, they affect the organ of Corti (Fajersztajn, et al
2019). Continuous sound exposure leads to a slow progressive decrease in auditory sensitivity
initially in the high-tone range, and then spreads to adjacent frequencies. It would be crucial to
determine the extent in which residents from Muscat international airport and Sohar airport have
been affected. The findings from the study would form basis for policy amendments.
Research scope
Research aim

The aim of the research is to investigate the level of noise that leads to complaints from
local residents who live close to Muscat international airport and Sohar airport. The target
participants would be children because children are the most vulnerable population. It will focus
on aspects such as effects of noise on school performance, cardiovascular conditions, nervous
conditions and depression.
Research Question
The main question guiding the research is to answer whether a high level of noise in
airports have dangerous effects on the local resident who lives close to Muscat international
airport and Sohar airport. The question is guided by the fact that chronic exposure to noise can
lead to acoustic stress, and not just the auditory system of the body. Through the fibers of the
auditory nerves, noise irritation is transmitted to the central and autonomic nervous systems, and
through them it acts on the internal organs, affects the mental state of a person, causing a feeling
of anxiety and irritation. The effect of noise on the autonomic nervous system manifests itself
even with a sound of 40 ... 70 dBA and does not depend on the subjective perception of noise by
a person (Wippel, 2016). At sound levels above 85 dBA, vegetative reactions in the form of
peripheral blood circulation disturbance due to narrowing of the capillaries of the skin and
mucous membranes, as well as an increase in blood pressure, can be observed.
Research design
Research objective
 To determine the total noise load. which is received by children living under the
influence of the noise of Muscat international airport and Sohar airport.

 To conduct conduct a comparative clinical assessment of the functional state and
incidence of children living in areas with different acoustic conditions
 To analyze the associations between aircraft noise and the associated health risk such as
stroke and cardiovascular among children.
 To determine the association between the noise pollution and prevalence of deafness
among children living close to Muscat international airport and Sohar airport
 To determine the association the noise pollution and performance of school children
living close to Muscat international airport and Sohar airport
Theoretical framework
With the growth of urbanization, noise has become a constant part of human life, one of
the significant pollutants of the urban environment. The pollution of our sound environment has
become rampant over the past hundred years. It not only causes irritation or reduces hearing
acuity. Noise causes extreme stress, which can lead to insomnia, high blood pressure and
impaired brain function. One of the problems is that many people perceive excessive noise just
as an annoying inconvenience, and not as a serious health hazard.
Excessive noise load dramatically reduces performance, reduces the effectiveness of rest,
leads to chronic overwork, deafness. Noise can also lead to physiological changes: to a variety of
disorders of the cardiovascular system, to diseases of the endocrine glands and the respiratory
tract resulting from general nervous tension (Hashemnezhad, 2015). Noise has the ability to
"accumulate" in the body and cause various diseases and negative health deviations. From excess
noise, the immune barrier decreases and the frequency of diseases sharply increases; irritability
increases. But above all, excessive noise leads to dullness of hearing or its complete loss with
time

Dispelling attention, noise significantly affects the ability to work and productivity. Noise
especially affects the performance during mental operations. A perceptible noise reduces the
working capacity of mental labor by more than 1.5 times, and in people engaged in physical
labor, by almost 1/3. At the same time, information obtained with noticeable noise pollution
cannot be stored in memory for a long time or stored only in a passive (recognizable in the text),
and not in the active version. Noise scatters a person’s attention, prevents him from
concentrating on the main thing, complicates the adoption of necessary decisions. It leads to a
disturbance in the activity of the heart, liver, and depletion and overexertion of nerve cells.
As for loud sounds, here the permissible limit is about 80 decibels, and even at a noise
level of 60–90 dB there are unpleasant sensations. A sound of 120-130 decibels already causes a
pain in a person, and 150 becomes intolerable for him. Not without reason in the Middle Ages
there was a penalty "under the bell." The rumble of a bell ringing tormented and slowly killed the
convict. Sound at 180dB causes metal fatigue, and in 190 it rips rivets out of structures. Very
high level and industrial noise. In many jobs and noisy industries, it reaches 90–110 decibels or
more (Irish, et al 2015). Not much quieter at our place, where ever new noise sources appear -
the so-called household appliances. It is also known that tree crowns absorb sounds by 10–20
dB. A noise of 60–80 dB causes a person to have autonomic nervous system disorders, and 90–
110 dB causes hearing loss. And the noise of 115–120 dB is a “pain threshold” when you can no
longer hear sound as such, but you feel pain in your ears. At 140–145 dB, eardrums can even
burst. The noise of 150 dB is simply unbearable, 180 dB is deadly for humans. Children who live
in urban noise have a lag in mental development. And frequent visits by teenagers to discos can
lead to hearing loss, because it “sounds” 105-110 dB, and in the case of amplified speakers - up
to 120 dB, which is equivalent to the roar of an electric train (Holt, et al 2015).

For a long time, the effect of noise on the human body has not been specifically studied,
although in ancient times they knew about its harm and, for example, in ancient cities, noise
restriction rules were introduced. Currently, scientists in many countries of the world are
conducting various studies to determine the effect of noise on human health. Their studies have
shown that noise causes significant harm to human health. Possessing an accumulative effect,
i.e., acoustic irritation, noise, accumulating in the body, depresses the nervous system more and
more. Noise has a particularly harmful effect on the neuropsychic activity of the body. The
process of mental illness is higher among people working in noisy conditions than people
working in normal sound conditions. Noises cause functional disorders of the cardiovascular
system (Halonen, et al 2017). Peculiarities of the reaction of the child’s body to noise exposure,
compared with the adult organ, is the basis for adjusting the hygiene standards of aircraft noise.
Measurements would be carried out in order to determine the acoustic load on the child
population in the places where children stay - in residential areas, in apartments and schools in 4
areas: in 2 "noisy" places near major airports. The acoustic mode characteristic of the school
premises during the educational process would be determined on the basis of measurements
taken in 8 schools located near airports within 0.5 - 2 km of the runway of the airfield (Johnson,
2018). From the indicators of public health, the changes of which may indicate the presence of
an adverse effect of the anthropotechnogenic load on the environment, the functional state of the
body, the physical development of children, and morbidity would be taken into account. For the
physiological assessment of the functional state of the organism, methods would be used that
make it possible to bring the examination process closer to natural conditions. To characterize
the functional state of the cardiovascular system, we will collect hospital records on children’s

blood vessels and hemodynamics. Based on these concept, the theoretical framework below will
guide our study.
Methodological approach
The study would adopt experimental approach. This is suitable approach because it will
help us determine whether children living next to the two airports have different. The data would
be collected from the clinical records on children’s morbidities and also from the school reports
on children living within the two airports (Etikan, Musa and Alkassim, 2016). On the other
hand, to determine magnitude of the noise pollution, the data recorded by the department related
to noise control at each airport would be used.
Data Analysis
Based on hospital records, children living around the two airports were selected. The
selection process was done based on convenience sampling (Johnson and Christensen, 2019).
H ig h n o is e f r o m a ir p o r t
Cardiovascular
conditions
Hearing problems
Poor school
performance
Poor mental
development
Depression and
nervous problems

Since hospital records shows place of residence, it was easier to identify all children living near
the two airports and those living outside the two airports. The identified children were evaluated
in terms of their medical conditions and clinical indicators such as blood pressure,
electrocardiographs, mental status and nervous status. The findings are as shown below.
Table 1: Findings from the study
Variables Those living next to airports
(experimental groups
Those living outside the
airports (control group)
With cardiovascular
conditions
12 5
With depression 4 1
With mental problems 5 1
With nervous problems 9 3
With poor school
performance
13 6
Since it was experimental, the analysis was done by comparing the two groups in terms of their
percentages. The following results were obtained.
Relationship between noise pollution and cardiovascular conditions
To determine whether noise pollution is associated with cardiovascular conditions, the
percentage of those who had cardiovascular problems from experimental group were obtained
and then compared to those who had cardiovascular disease from control group. The pie chart
below compares the two groups.

Graph 1: Pie Chart comparing cardiovascular incidence of children within and outside airports
71%
29%
Suffering from cardiovascular disease
Within airports
Outside Airports
From the chart, it is clear that there is high prevalence of cardiovascular conditions
among children located near the airports. However, correlation may not be causation until further
research is done to proof
Relationship between noise pollution and depression among children
From the review of clinical records, we found than 4 children who reside next to the two
airports had suffered from depressive symptoms. Only 1 child living away from the airport had
suffered from depressive symptoms. These findings are graphically represented in the pie chart
below.
Graph 2: Pie chart comparing depression incidence among children within and
outside airport

80%
20%
Prevalence of Depression
Within airports
Outside Airports
Noise pollution and school performance
Another variable evaluated during the study is the relationship between noise pollution
and school performance. From the school records, we found that 13 children living next to the
airports had poor school performance. Based on records, only 6 of the children living outside the
airport had poor school performance. Although this supports the findings by Levine, et al (2018),
the small sample size may not explain causation. The pie chart below summarizes the findings.
Graph 3: Pie chart comparing school performance among children within and
outside airport

68%
32%
Poor school performance
Within airports
Outside Airports
Conclusion
The findings proved that noise pollution could be detrimental to the health of children
living near the two airports. Although it was hard to determine causation, the analysis
demonstrated that noise pollution is risk factor for cardiovascular disease, poor school
performance, depression and hearing problems. It is upon the policy makers to device ways of
reducing noise pollution near airports.
Recommendations
Since the noise pollution is a potential risk factors for numerous health and social
problems, it is recommended that the management of the airports in collaboration with concerned
government agencies should come up with ways of reducing noise pollution. The most feasible
and practical way is to relocate the residents living near airport. Alternatively, they can look for
technologies to reduce noise pollution