The negative impact of loud noises on learning (i.e. impairing reading comprehension and memory, decreas-ing motivation, and other factors) is widely accepted in the literature (see e.g. Clark and Stansfeld, 2007). ‘Undoubtedly, it is a general hindrance to cognitive development in contem-porary urban environments, affecting any mode of learning, including home schooling. Therefore, the evidence presented in Figure 3 is alarming as it shows a high proportion of households suffering from noise, which appears to be more intense in many high-income coun-tries such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Denmark, while it is milder in Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia and Croatia. The data also show that noise pollution affects disproportionately low-income households. For example, in the Netherlands 37.4% of house-holds below the poverty line reported suffering from noise compared to 25.5% of households above the poverty line. In Denmark, the difference is even larger for poor and non-poor house-holds (32.3% vs 16.1%). Yet there are also a few cases defying the general pattern such as Greece, Romania and Lithuania, where the incidence of households suffering from noise is more frequent among non-poor households.0510152025303540NetherlandsGermanyDenmarkMaltaFranceLuxembourgBelgiumPortugalCyprusUnited KingdomEU28SwedenAustriaSpainFinlandCzechiaGreeceRomaniaLatviaIrelandSloveniaSlovakiaHungaryLithuaniaPolandItalyBulgaria

Sonic doom: how noise pollution kills thousands each year

Noise and Light Pollution27.63