| Table 1. Relation between annoyance and sound exposure to wind turbines. | ||||
| Studies | N | Dose-response relationship | Effects | Other factors influencing annoyance |
| Jansen et al. 2011 [33] (meta analysis of Pedersen et al. 2004, 2007, 2009 [38–40]. | 1820 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Noise sensitive subjects (↑); Visible wind turbines (↑); Age (↑); Economic benefits (↓) |
| Pedersen 2011 [35]. (A subpopulation of same study populations as Jansen et al. 2011 [33]). | 1755 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Economic benefits (↓) – analyses were adjusted for economic benefits, but only in analyses with data from Pedersen et al. 2009. |
| Pedersen and Larsman 2008 [34] (meta-analysis of Pedersen et al. 2004 and 2007 [38, 39]. | 1095 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. Effect was independent of terrain. | Negative evaluation of wind turbines (↑); Visual attitude towards wind turbines for subjects who could see the wind turbines and to a lower degree for subjects who could not see the wind turbines (↑); Increased vertical visual angle is correlated to wind turbine noise and annoyance (↑) |
| Pedersen et al. 2009; Bakker et al. 2012 [36, 40, 41]. | 725 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Noise-sensitive subjects (↑); Visible wind turbines (↑); Economic benefit (↓); Built-up area opposed to rural area without main road (↑); Rural area with main road (↓) |
| Pedersen et al. 2004 [38, 41, 47]. | 341 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Noise-sensitive subjects (↑); Negative attitude to visible wind turbines (↑); Negative attitude to wind turbines in general (↑) |
| Pedersen et al 2007 [39, 41, 47]. | 754 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Noise-sensitive subjects (↑); Attitude to visible wind turbines (↑); Attitude to wind turbines in general (↑) |
| Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. 2014 [46]. | 156 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | Noise-sensitive subjects (↑); Attitude to visible wind turbines (↑); Attitude to wind turbines in general (↑); Sensitivity to landscape littering (↑); Negative self-assessment of physical health (↑); Wind turbines were found to be the most annoying sound source. |
| Aslund et al. 2013 [67]. Based on calculations from Pedersen et al. 2009 and Bakker et al. 2012 and Jansen et al. 2011 [33, 36, 40]. | 8123 theoretically exposed subjects. 522 participating receptors. | Yes (dose-response relationship derived from other studies). | Highly exposed subjects close to wind turbines calculated to be more frequently annoyed and very annoyed. | Participating residents in wind farm projects (↑). Annoyance outdoors calculated to be higher than annoyance indoors. |
| Shepherd et al. 2011 [42]. | 39 subjects. 158 controls. | Not related to sound – related to distance. | Annoyance not directly compared between subjects and controls. | Annoyance decreased perceived general health as well as physical, social and environmental quality of life scores for the control group only. Subjects reported, however, lower environmental quality of life scores compared to controls. |
| Kuwano et al. 2013 [43]. | 747 subjects. 332 controls. | Not related to sound. | Proportion of annoyed subjects higher in wind turbine exposed subjects | All kinds of noise sources increased annoyance in both groups. Subjects in the wind turbine group found wind turbines as the most annoying sound source. |
| Yano et al. 2013 [44]. | 747 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects more annoyed compared to less exposed subjects. | No difference in dose-response curves between cold and warm areas. Living near the sea (↓) (waves may mask wind turbine sounds); Noise sensitivity (↑); Landscape disturbing (↑); Environmental interest (↑) |
| Morris 2012 [50, 51]. | 93 households | Not related to sound. | 56% of households are annoyed during night time within 0–5 km from the wind turbines compared to 40% of households living within 0–10 km from wind turbines. | No influencing factors were investigated. |
| Schafer 2013 [54]. | 23 households | Not related to sound | 66% of subjects affected by noise at night. | No influencing factors were investigated. |
| Schneider 2012 [55, 56]. | 23 households, 25 households in follow-up. | Not related to sound. | 85.7% (87.7% in follow-up study) were disturbed from daytime noise. 100% from nighttime noise in follow-up. | No influencing factors were investigated. |
| Thorne 2012 [52]. | 25 | Not related to sound, but sound levels measured. | 91% were annoyed indoors. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Schmidt JH, Klokker M (2014). Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114183. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114183.t001 | ||||
| Table 2. Relation between sound exposure to wind turbines and sleep disturbance. | ||||
| Studies | N | Dose-response relationship | Effects | Other factors influencing sleep |
| Nissenbaum et. al. 2012 [37]. | 38 subjects near wind turbines. 41 controls far from wind turbines. | Not related to sound but sleep scores related to distance. | Subjects near wind turbines had worse sleep (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale score) compared to subjects far from wind turbines. | |
| Bakker et al. 2012 [36]. | 725 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects reported more frequent sleep disturbances. | Sleep disturbance higher in urban areas where subjects were disturbed by traffic noises, people leaving the disco, animals. |
| Pedersen et al. 2011 [35]. | 1755 | Yes/No | Highly exposed subjects reported more disturbed sleep in 2 out of 3 studies. | Pedersen et al. 2004 and 2009 did report an association between sound exposures and sleep disturbance. Pedersen et al. 2007 did not find an association. |
| Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. 2014 [46]. | 156 | Yes | Highly exposed subjects suffered significantly more of insomnia (p<0.05). | Negative self-assessment of physical health (↑); Wind turbines were found to be the most annoying sound source. |
| Kuwano et al. 2013 [43]. | 747 subjects. 332 controls. | Not related to sound – related to distance. | Proportion of subjects with affected sleep was slightly higher in wind turbine exposed subjects. | All kinds of noise sources increased sleep disturbance in both groups. Subjects in the wind turbine group found wind turbines as the most disturbing sound source. |
| Shepherd et al. 2011 [42]. | 39 subjects. 158 controls. | Not related to sound – related to distance. | Perceived sleep quality poorer in subjects (wind turbine exposed) compared to controls (not exposed). | Worse sleep with increased noise sensitivity in wind turbine exposed. General health, physical and psychosocial health increased with better perceived sleep quality. |
| Krogh et al. 2011 [49]. | 102 subjects with health problems. | Not related to sound. | Sleep disturbance more frequently reported, but not significantly (p=0.08) different in subjects living close to wind turbines compared to subjects living further away. | Excessive tiredness was reported significantly increased (p=0.03) in subjects living within 350–673 meters from wind turbines compared to subjects living between 700–2400 meters from wind turbines. |
| Lane 2013 [57]. | 11 exposed. 10 unexposed. | Increased awakenings were related to sound levels above 45 dB(A). | Slightly but not significantly worse sleep parameters in the exposed group measured with actigraph. | Reasons of awakening were not related to wind turbine noise. Use of the bath-room by a child or partner were the most commonly reported sources of awakening. No correlation between distance to wind turbines and sleep efficiency were found. Overall uneven correlation between subjective and objective sleep parameters. |
| Paller 2014 [45]. | 396 | Not related to sound but sleep scores related to distance. | Subjects near wind turbines had worse sleep (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index) (p<0.01) compared to subjects far from wind turbines. | Analyses were controlled for age, gender and county. |
| Harry 2007 [66]. | 42 | Not related to sound. | More than 70% of cases reported impaired sleep. | No control group. Cases are just reported to live near wind turbines. |
| Iser 2004 [65]. | 19 | Not related to sound. | 8/19=42% reported disturbed sleep. | No control group. Cases were just living near wind turbines. |
| Morris 2012 [50, 51]. | 93 | Not related to sound. | 39% of households had disturbed sleep within 0–5 km from the wind turbines compared to 29% of households living within 0–10 km from wind turbines. | No influencing factors were investigated. |
| Krogh et al. 2011 [49]. | 97 | Not related to sound. | 69% reported sleep disturbance. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Schafer 2013 [54]. | 23 households. | Not related to sound. | 51% of subjects affected by sleep disturbance. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Schneider 2012 [55, 56]. | 23 households. 25 households in follow-up. | Not related to sound. | 78.5% had disturbed sleep. 100% had disturbed sleep in follow-up study. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Thorne 2012 [52]. | 25 | Not related to sound, but sound levels measured. | 92% noted a change in sleep patterns. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Pierpont 2009 [1]. | 38 subjects from 10 families. | Not related to sound. | 86% reported disturbed sleep. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Phipps [53]. | 614 households. | Related to distance. | Disturbed sleep was reported by 42, frequently disturbed sleep by 21 and 5 were affected most of the time. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Schmidt JH, Klokker M (2014). Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114183. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114183.t001 | ||||
| Table 3. Psychological distress. | ||||
| Studies | N | Dose-response relationship | Effects | Other factors influencing psychological distress |
| Bakker et al. 2012 [36]. | 725 | Yes | Highly exposed reported psychological distress (General health questionnaire). | Annoyance influence psychological distress and in this case psychological distress is not predicted by sound-exposure. |
| Nissenbaum et al. 2012 [37]. | 38 subjects near wind turbines. 41 controls far from wind turbines. | Not related to sound but sleep scores related to distance. | Subjects near wind turbines had worse mental scores (Mental Component Score of SF-36) compared to subjects far from wind turbines. | |
| Shepherd et al. 2011 [42]. | 39 subjects. 158 controls. | Not related to sound. | No differences found in psychological and social health-related quality of life (WHOQOL) questionnaire parameters. | |
| McBride et al. 2013 – a follow-up of Shepherd et al. 2011 [42, 48]. | Selected from 56 exposed houses and 250 control houses. | Not related to sound. | WHO–quality of life (WHOQOL) did not change in the follow-up period in the exposed group. The physical domain and general satisfaction with health scored significantly lower in the exposed group compared to the control group in the most recent study. | Amenity decreased significantly in the control group over time. Amenity was stable in the exposed group over time. |
| Harry 2007 [66]. | 42 | Not related to sound. | More than 50% of cases reported anxiety and stress. | No control group. Cases are just reported to live near wind turbines. |
| Iser 2004 [65]. | 19 | Not related to sound. | 8/19=42% reported stress and likely symptoms. | No control group. Cases were just living near wind turbines. |
| Krogh et al. 2011 [64]. | 112 | Not related to sound. | A majority reported stress, anxiety, excessive tiredness, depression. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Thorne 2012 [52]. | 25 | Not related to sound, but sound levels measured. | Mental component scores of SF-36 were much lower than expected from known population scores. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Pierpont 2009 [1]. | 38 subjects from 10 families. | Not related to sound. | 93% reported memory and concentration problems. | No influencing factors except living near wind turbines were investigated. |
| Schmidt JH, Klokker M (2014). Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114183. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114183.t001 | ||||
1. Pierpont N (2009). Wind turbine syndrome: A report on a natural experiment: K-Selected Books Santa Fe, NM, USA.
33. Janssen SA, Vos H, Eisses AR, Pedersen E (2011). A comparison between exposure-response relationships for wind turbine annoyance and annoyance due to other noise sources. J Acoust Soc Am 130:3746–3753. doi: 10.1121/1.3653984
34. Pedersen E, Larsman P (2008). The impact of visual factors on noise annoyance among people living in the vicinity of wind turbines. J Environ Psychol 28:379–389. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.02.009
35. Pedersen E (2011). Health aspects associated with wind turbine noise-Results from three field studies. Noise Control Eng J 59:47–53. doi: 10.3397/1.3533898
36. Bakker RH, Pedersen E, van den Berg GP, Stewart RE, Lok W, et al. (2012). Impact of wind turbine sound on annoyance, self-reported sleep disturbance and psychological distress. Sci Total Environ 425:42–51.
37. Nissenbaum MA, Aramini JJ, Hanning CD (2012). Effects of industrial wind turbine noise on sleep and health. Noise Health 14:237–243. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.102961
38. Pedersen E, Waye KP (2004). Perception and annoyance due to wind turbine noise–a dose-response relationship. J Acoust Soc Am 116:3460–3470. doi: 10.1121/1.1815091
39. Pedersen E, Persson Waye K (2007). Wind turbine noise, annoyance and self-reported health and well-being in different living environments. Occup Environ Med 64:480–486. doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.031039
40. Pedersen E, van den Berg F, Bakker R, Bouma J (2009). Response to noise from modern wind farms in The Netherlands. J Acoust Soc Am 126:634–643. doi: 10.1121/1.3160293
41. Pedersen E (2009). Effects of wind turbine noise on humans. Proceedings of the Third International Meeting on Wind Turbine Noise, Aalborg, Denmark, 17–19 June 2009: pp. 11.
42. Shepherd D, McBride D, Welch D, Dirks KN, Hill EM (2011). Evaluating the impact of wind turbine noise on health-related quality of life. Noise Health 13:333–339. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.85502
43. Kuwano S, Yano T, Kageyama T, Sueoka S, Tachibana H (2013). Social survey on community response to wind turbine noise. INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings, 42nd International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2013 (INTERNOISE 2013), Insbruck, Austria, 15–18 September 2013: pp. 3362–3371.
44. Yano T, Kuwano S, Kageyama T, Sueoka S, Tachibana H (2013). Dose-response relationships for wind turbine noise in Japan. INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings, 42nd International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2013 (INTERNOISE 2013), Insbruck, Austria, 15–18 September 2013: pp. 2715–2722.
45. Paller C (2014). Exploring the Association between Proximity to Industrial Wind Turbines and Self-Reported Health Outcomes in Ontario, Canada [Master of Science in Health Studies and Gerontology]. University of Waterloo, Canada. Available: https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/8268. Accessed 2014 Jun 9. 102 p.
46. Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska M, Dudarewicz A, Zaborowski K, Zamojska-Daniszewska M, Waszkowska M (2014). Evaluation of annoyance from the wind turbine noise - A pilot study. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 27:364-388.
47. Pedersen E (2007). Human response to wind turbine noise-perception, annoyance and moderating factors [Ph.D.]. Inst of Medicine. Dept of Public Health and Community Medicine. University of Göteborg. Available: https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/4431/1/gupea_2077_4431_1.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 9. 86 p.
48. McBride D, Shepherd D, Welch D, Dirks KN (2013). A longtitudinal study of the impact of wind turbine proximity on health related quality of life. INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings, 42nd International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2013 (INTERNOISE 2013), Insbruck, Austria, 15–18 September 2013. Institute of Noise Control Engineering. pp. 2529–2533.
49. Krogh CM, Gillis L, Kouwen N, Aramini J (2011). WindVOiCe, a self-reporting survey: adverse health effects, industrial wind turbines, and the need for vigilance monitoring. Bull Sci Tech Soc 31:334–345. doi: 10.1177/0270467611412551
50. Morris M (2013). Waterloo case series preliminary report. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/Waterloo-Case-Series-Preliminary-Report.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
51. Morris M (2012). Waterloo Wind Farm Survey April 2012. Available: http://waubrafoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Waterloo-Wind-Farm-Survey-April-2012-Select-Committee1.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
52. Thorne B (2012). Wind Farm Generated Noise and Adverse Health Effects. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/Thorne_Wind-farm-generated-noise-adverse-health-effects.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
53. Phipps R (2007). Evidence of Dr Robyn Phipps, In the Matter of Moturimu Wind Farm Application. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/phipps-moturimutestimony.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 21.
54. Schafer A (2013). Macarthur wind energy facility preliminary survey. Available: http://waubrafoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Macarthur-Wind-Energy-Facility-Preliminary-Survey.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
55. Schneider P (2012). Cullerin Range Wind Farm Survey. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/Cullerin-Range-Wind-Farm-Survey-August-2012.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
56. Schneider P (2013). Cullerin range wind farm survey follow-up survey. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/Cullerin-Range-Wind-Farm-Survey-Follow-Up-July-August-2013.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
57. Lane J (2013). Association Between Industrial Wind Turbine Noise and Sleep Quality in a Comparison Sample of Rural Ontarians [Master of Science in Health Studies and Gerontology]. University of Waterloo, Canada. Available: https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/7533. Accessed 2014 Jun 8.
64. Wind Concerns Ontario (2009). A self-reporting survey: adverse health effects with industrial wind turbines and the need for vigilance. Available: http://docs.wind-watch.org/wco-health-survey.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
Note: This survey was misattributed to Wind Concerns Ontario, which appears to have posted under its name this early report of results from the WindVOiCe survey, the final results of which were published in 2011 (ref. 49). The correct citation, which reports more fully the same cohort as ref. 49, is:
Krogh CME, Gillis L, Kouwen N (2011). WindVOiCe Wind Vigilance for Ontario Communities: A Self-Reporting Survey of Adverse Health Effects Associated with Industrial Wind Turbines: The Need for Vigilance. Available: http://windvigilance.com/health_survey_rev16.pdf. Accessed 2014 Dec 11.
65. Iser DJ (2004). Results - Local wind farm survey. Available: http://waubrafoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Dr-Iser-Submission-to-NHMRC.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
66. Harry A (2007). Wind Turbines, Noise and Health. Available: http://waubrafoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Harry-Dr-Amanda-Wind-Turbines-Noise-Health-survey-Feb-2007.pdf. Accessed 2014 Jun 15.
67. Aslund MLW, Ollson CA, Knopper LD (2013). Projected contributions of future wind farm development to community noise and annoyance levels in Ontario, Canada. Energ Policy 62:44–50. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.070