The effect of wind farm noise on human response: An analysis of listening test methodologies

Despite the significance of listening tests in identifying the human response to wind farm noise (WFN), little attention has been paid to methodological approaches relevant to WFN listening tests to date. Moreover, evidence on the potential adverse effects of WFN is still not well established. This paper thereby sheds light on the different quantification approaches of human response to WFN characteristics. There is also a discussion on the quality of current evidence regarding the effect of WFN on annoyance and sleep disruption. In the context of listening tests, separating WFN characteristics can be beneficial in many ways. Firstly, acceptable threshold levels for each component of WFN for daytime annoyance and night-time sleep disturbance can be quantified. Second, the most annoying characteristic of WFN can be identified. Third, the most annoying characteristics of WFN can be identified by combining two or more components of WFN. Finally, this helps determine the sufficiency of current penalties applied to WFN characteristics.