Quantitative and Perspective Evaluation on the Environmental Noise Pollution and Community Annoyance in the Vicinity of a Residential Area

Noise is an unwanted sound that causes dissatisfaction, discomfort, and annoyance at a high level and long exposure. High environmental noise levels lead to annoyance in the residential area of the community. This study aimed to investigate the noise level and community noise annoyance of the residential area in Terengganu. Noise measurements were repetitively taken using a Sound Level Meter (SLM) and the evaluation of LAeq, Lmax, Lmin, L10, and L90 were measured in Decibel-A (dBA). The community noise annoyance was assessed through the questionnaire surveys and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and Microsoft Excel 2019. The LAeq during the day and nighttime was 59.3 dBA and 55.9 dBA, respectively. Both LAeq have not exceeded the limits set by the Department of Environment (DOE), Malaysia. Most respondents did not feel annoyed by the noise (76.9%), which was the outcome of the questionnaire surveys. The noise assessment could provide useful information to maintain a healthy resident environment.