Newcastle upon Tyne has been named the noisiest place in England, no mean feat for a city with only the twentieth largest population.

The city’s average decibel rating of 80.4 means that it could be more damaging to your hearing to cross the Tyne Bridge than to walk through Oxford Circus in London or Manchester Piccadilly.

A report by researchers at University College London found that the level of traffic noise in Newcastle is equivalent to a loud alarm clock constantly ringing in one’s ear.

The city led a string of unlikely locations, such as Darlington, ranked fourth, and Gillingham in Kent, ranked sixth, whose residents face the highest risk of severe hearing and health problems.

In contrast, Liverpool and Manchester were ranked only eighth and eleventh in terms of noise pollution.

However, while ears may start ringing as soon as the Angel of the North appears on the horizon, it was a different story in most of the South, with Torquay named as the least noisy urban area studied.

It has been ranked bottom of the traffic noise league, with a relatively peaceful 60 decibels — the same as listening to a normal conversation.

Decibels are a logarithmic index, which means that Newcastle is a hundred times noisier than the Devon seaside resort.

Experts have cautioned that the levels of traffic noise uncovered by the report are a threat to health and wellbeing and should be seen as being as detrimental as air pollution. Prolonged exposure to traffic noise — if loud enough — could lead to irreversible hearing damage needing medical attention.

The report’s author, Deepak Prasher, of the Ear Institute, University College London, worked with Widex, of Denmark, a leading hearing-aid manufacturer. The Widex Noise Report was compiled by measuring traffic noise in 41 towns and cities around England during rush-hour periods.

Places where people come into close proximity to traffic were chosen as measurement locations to give a “snapshot” of the levels of noise pollution around the country.

Professor Prasher said: “Noise pollution in our towns and cities is a growing problem and can have a serious long-term impact on our health and wellbeing.

“Noise not only annoys but also can raise our stress levels and associated hormone levels. It can disturb sleep and increase the risk of heart disease and, if the noise is loud enough, it can lead to permanent hearing impairment and tinnitus.”

The report, listing the noisiest and quietest urban areas in England, was carried out last year in October and November.

Mean streets

1 Newcastle upon Tyne 80.4 (decibels)
2 Birmingham 79.1
3 London 78.5
4 Darlington 78.3
4 Doncaster 78.3
6 Gillingham 77.8
6 Leeds 77.8
8 Leicester 77.5
8 Liverpool 77.5
10 Stoke 77.4
11 Manchester 77.3
12 Sheffield 76.3
13 Nottingham 76.2
14 Bournemouth 76
15 Norwich 75.9
16 Bristol 75.8
16 Blackpool 75.8
18 Croydon 75.5
19 Swindon 75.2
20 Exeter 74.6
21 Coventry 74.5
22 Brighton 74.3
23 Carlisle 74.2
24 Sunderland 73.8
25 Plymouth 73.6
26 Southampton 72.5
27 Cheltenham 72.4
27 Lincoln 72.4
29 Bury St Edmunds 72.3
30 Ipswich 71.9
31 York 71.5
32 Eastbourne 70.8
33 Oxford 70.7
34 Chelmsford 70.3
35 Reading 69.8
35 Cambridge 69.8
37 Colchester 68.1
38 Folkestone 66.8
39 Scunthorpe 66.4
40 Paignton 65.7
41 Torquay 60.2

Source: Widex Noise Report

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