Marja Heinonen-Guzejev

Genetic component of noise sensitivity.

We investigated the genetic component of noise sensitivity using a twin-study design. The study sample consisted of 573 same-sexed twin pairs from the Finnish Twin Cohort. The 131 monozygotic (MZ) and 442 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs with an age range of 31 to 88 years replied to a questionnaire on noise and health-related items in 1988. The noise sensitivity of respondents was defined as high, quite high, quite low or low. MZ pairs were more similar with regards noise sensitivity than DZ pairs, and quantitative genetic modeling indicated significant familiality. The best z-fitting genetic model provided an estimate of heritability of 36% (95% CI = .20-.50) and when hearing impaired subjects were excluded this rose to 40% (95% CI = .24-.54). In conclusion, noise sensitivity does aggregate in families and probably has a genetic component.

Somatic and psychological characteristics of noise-sensitive adults in Finland.

The authors examined the relationship of noise sensitivity with health status and psychological factors in individuals <70 yr of age in Finland. Subjects (n = 1,355) were selected from a 1988 case-control study, based on the Finnish Twin Cohort, that assessed noise sensitivity, lifetime noise exposure, and hypertension. Other health status and psychological factors were obtained from a questionnaire that had been administered to the same individuals in 1981. Statistical analysis showed that noise sensitivity was associated significantly with hypertension, emphysema, use of psychotropic drugs (i.e., sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and pain relievers), stress, smoking, and hostility, even after adjustment for lifetime noise exposure. These results indicate that noise sensitivity has both psychological and somatogenic components.

Elucidating the relationship between noise sensitivity and personality

Sensitivity to unwanted sounds is common in general and clinical populations. Noise sensitivity refers to physiological and psychological internal states of an individual that increase the degree of reactivity to noise in general. The current study investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and noise sensitivity using the 240-item NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and 35-item The Noise-Sensitivity-Questionnaire (NoiSeQ) scales, respectively. Overall, the Big Five accounted for 33% of the variance in noise sensitivity, with the Introversion-Extroversion dimension explaining the most variability. Furthermore, the Big Five personality dimensions (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) had an independent effect on noise sensitivity, which were linear. However, additional analyses indicated that the influence of gender and age must be considered when examining the relationship between personality and noise sensitivity. The findings caution against pooling data across genders, not controlling for age, and using personality dimensions in isolation.

Noise sensitivity and hearing disability.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of noise sensitivity with self-reported hearing disability and hearing levels, with consideration of the role of self-reported history of noise exposure and use of hearing protectors. The study is based on the Finnish Twin Cohort. In 1988, a noise questionnaire was sent to 1005 twin pairs, 1495 individuals (688 men, 807 women) replied. The age range was 31-88 years. Information on some potential confounders was obtained from the questionnaire in 1981 for the same individuals. A subsample of thirty-eight elderly women with noise sensitivity response from 1988 had audiometry data from 2000 to 2001. Noise sensitivity was associated with self-reported hearing disability among all subjects [odds ratio (OR) 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-2.12] and among women (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.19-3.04), but no-more significantly among men (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.86-1.98). The association was primarily seen among younger subjects (50 years or less). The difference between noise sensitive and non-noise sensitive elderly women in the average of thresholds at frequencies of 0.5-4 kHz in the better ear was not significant (Pr = 0.18). Noise sensitivity did not modify the association of hearing disability with the self-reported history of occupational noise exposure. Noise sensitivity was associated with the use of hearing protectors at work. The study shows the importance of recognizing the noise sensitive in noise effect studies, since sensitivity in annoyance has implications in most of the effect categories.

Noise sensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity scales: Properties in a population based epidemiological study

Noise sensitivity is considered to be a self-perceived indicator of vulnerability to stressors in general and not noise alone. Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) has to some extent been accompanied by noise sensitivity, indicating a moderate correspondence between them. The aim of this study is to investigate if the Weinsteins Noise Sensitivity Scale and Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventorys (QEESI) Chemical Intolerance Subscale can differentiate noise sensitivity and MCS as different entities, and if there are overlaps in the characteristics of noise sensitivity and MCS. In 2002, 327 individuals (166 men, 161 women; age range 45 - 66 years) from the Finnish Twin Cohort answered a questionnaire on noise-related and MCS items. Somatic, psychological, and lifestyle factors were obtained through earlier questionnaires for the same individuals. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA) of the questionnaire items on the Weinsteins Noise Sensitivity Scale and QEESIs Chemical Intolerance Subscale indicated the presence of three factors - Noise Sensitivity, Chemical Sensitivity, and Ability to Concentrate factors - arising from the forming of two factors from the items of the Weinsteins scale. In the regression analyses, among all subjects, the Noise Sensitivity Factor was associated with neuroticism and smoking, and the Chemical Sensitivity Factor was associated with allergies and alcohol use. The study indicates that the Weinsteins Noise Sensitivity Scale and QEESIs Chemical Intolerance Subscale differentiate noise sensitivity and MCS as different entities.

A window into the brain mechanisms associated with noise sensitivity

Noise sensitive individuals are more likely to experience negative emotions from unwanted sounds and they show greater susceptibility to adverse effects of noise on health. Noise sensitivity does not originate from dysfunctions of the peripheral auditory system, and it is thus far unknown whether and how it relates to abnormalities of auditory processing in the central nervous system. We conducted a combined electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography (M/EEG) study to measure neural sound feature processing in the central auditory system in relation to the individual noise sensitivity. Our results show that high noise sensitivity is associated with altered sound feature encoding and attenuated discrimination of sound noisiness in the auditory cortex. This finding makes a step towards objective measures of noise sensitivity instead of self-evaluation questionnaires and the development of strategies to prevent negative effects of noise on the susceptible population.

The association of noise sensitivity with music listening, training, and aptitude.

After intensive, long-term musical training, the auditory system of a musician is specifically tuned to perceive musical sounds. We wished to find out whether a musician′s auditory system also develops increased sensitivity to any sound of everyday life, experiencing them as noise. For this purpose, an online survey, including questionnaires on noise sensitivity, musical background, and listening tests for assessing musical aptitude, was administered to 197 participants in Finland and Italy. Subjective noise sensitivity (assessed with the Weinstein′s Noise Sensitivity Scale) was analyzed for associations with musicianship, musical aptitude, weekly time spent listening to music, and the importance of music in each person′s life (or music importance). Subjects were divided into three groups according to their musical expertise: Nonmusicians (N = 103), amateur musicians (N = 44), and professional musicians (N = 50). The results showed that noise sensitivity did not depend on musical expertise or performance on musicality tests or the amount of active (attentive) listening to music. In contrast, it was associated with daily passive listening to music, so that individuals with higher noise sensitivity spent less time in passive (background) listening to music than those with lower sensitivity to noise. Furthermore, noise-sensitive respondents rated music as less important in their life than did individuals with lower sensitivity to noise. The results demonstrate that the special sensitivity of the auditory system derived from musical training does not lead to increased irritability from unwanted sounds. However, the disposition to tolerate contingent musical backgrounds in everyday life depends on the individual′s noise sensitivity.

The Negative Affect Hypothesis of Noise Sensitivity

Some studies indicate that noise sensitivity is explained by negative affect, a dispositional tendency to negatively evaluate situations and the self. Individuals high in such traits may report a greater sensitivity to other sensory stimuli, such as smell, bright light and pain. However, research investigating the relationship between noise sensitivity and sensitivity to stimuli associated with other sensory modalities has not always supported the notion of a common underlying trait, such as negative affect, driving them. Additionally, other explanations of noise sensitivity based on cognitive processes have existed in the clinical literature for over 50 years. Here, we report on secondary analyses of pre-existing laboratory (n = 74) and epidemiological (n = 1005) data focusing on the relationship between noise sensitivity to and annoyance with a variety of olfactory-related stimuli. In the first study a correlational design examined the relationships between noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, and perceptual ratings of 16 odors. The second study sought differences between mean noise and air pollution annoyance scores across noise sensitivity categories. Results from both analyses failed to support the notion that, by itself, negative affectivity explains sensitivity to noise.

Noise sensitivity and disability retirement: a longitudinal twin study.

Objective: To analyze whether noise sensitivity increases the risk of disability pension (DP). Methods: Questionnaire data of a sample of 706 Finnish twin individuals (age range, 31 to 65 years) with record linkage to information on DP during 16 years of follow-up were analyzed using individual and pairwise Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Noise sensitivity increased the risk of DP (hazard ratio = 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03 to 1.93) and DP due to musculoskeletal disorders (hazard ratio = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.00 to 2.66). In within-pair analyses, noise sensitivity increased the risk of DP: among all twin pairs, odds ratio was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.08 to 3.06). Conclusions: Noise sensitivity may be a potential risk factor for disability retirement. It is associated with DP independently of familial background and genetic factors.

Neuroanatomical substrate of noise sensitivity

&NA; Recent functional studies suggest that noise sensitivity, a trait describing attitudes towards noise and predicting noise annoyance, is associated with altered processing in the central auditory system. In the present work, we examined whether noise sensitivity could be related to the structural anatomy of auditory and limbic brain areas. Anatomical MR brain images of 80 subjects were parcellated with FreeSurfer to measure grey matter volume, cortical thickness, cortical area and folding index of anatomical structures in the temporal lobe and insular cortex. The grey matter volume of amygdala and hippocampus was measured as well. According to our findings, noise sensitivity is associated with the grey matter volume in the selected structures. Among those, we propose and discuss particular areas, previously linked to auditory perceptual, emotional and interoceptive processing, in which larger grey matter volume seems to be related to higher noise sensitivity. HighlightsNoise sensitivity is related enlarged primary auditory areas in the left hemisphere.The bilateral hippocampus and temporal pole are enlarged in noise sensitivity.The volume of the right anterior insula is increased in noise sensitivity.Noise sensitivity is related to the morphology of auditory‐limbic brain areas.