Loud Luxembourg: When noise comes at the cost of health

It's omnipresent: noise! Construction sites, aeroplanes, that one neighbour who mows the lawn on a Sunday morning… they're all annoying. But by far the most nerve-wracking is a type of noise that is so "normal" that it's easy to forget about it: road noise.

According to a noise mapping study by the Environmental Administration (AEV), around 330,000 people in Luxembourg live in places that are exposed to road noise of over 55 decibels (dB) on average during the day. This is the level at which chronic noise becomes a "relevant burden". This noise-level is roughly comparable to a normal conversation that you can never ever escape. After all, it is of little use telling the cars outside your door that you would like some peace and quiet now, please and thank you. Cars that are too loud are part of the problem – according to a parliamentary enquiry, 517 parking tickets were issued between 2021 and 2023 for illegally noisy cars – but the fundamental reality is simpler: cars, even relatively quiet ones, make a lot of noise. Even the emergence of electric cars only helps to a limited extent, as tyres are the main source of noise above a speed of 50 km/h.

Noise – not just a burden on the ears

"Sound pressure only has direct consequences for the hearing itself from around 85dB [more or less equivalent to a food blender, editor's note], " explains ear surgeon Dr Christophe Käcker in a telephone interview. "But the psychological consequences start much earlier. People feel stressed due to noise, especially if they live in noisy neighbourhoods, for example on busy roads." Some possible consequences of this stress: rising blood pressure, high stress hormone levels, metabolic problems and eventually even cardiovascular disease.