Noise Annoyance in Physical Sciences: Perspective 2015–2024

The current level of civilization development results in the widespread presence of devices that generate sound waves. Even in the so-called quiet zones, infrasound can be recorded, which, despite the lack of audibility, causes undesirable physiological reactions or affects the environment. Research on noise pollution and its effects on human health and the environment is increasingly prevalent. Thus, the problem of noise should be considered an important and increasingly real problem. In the presented article, an advanced review of the literature on the noise was carried out in order to systematize the issues, diagnose trends, and identify research gaps. The literature review included 1952 articles present in the Scopus database. After selecting the material, 112 documents were qualified for full analysis. Publications were grouped based on selected categories, cross-analyzed for statistical correlations, and described on the basis of content. The findings indicate the dominant areas of research interest in noise and its sources and reveal the most widespread methodological trends such as increased interest in the area of engineering (66.67% increase) and air transport (19.04% increase); an increased frequency of use of the experimental method (28.12% increase); and the rising interest of noise annoyance in China (150% increase). On the other hand, the largest drops of interest occur in Earth and planetary sciences (decrease of 50%), in road transportation (21.87%), in conceptual papers (decrease of 16.21%), and a reduced number of affiliations of authors from Germany (decrease of 45.45%). Outcomes indicate a proposal for future research to fill the identified gaps in the literature.