Soundscape of an eastern coastal city of India.

The soundscape study of an eastern Indian coastal city (Puri) has been investigated. Acoustic data were collected at 36 sampling locations during two time intervals in and around Puri. A number of noise indices, namely, Lmin, Lmax, and Leq, were calculated to demonstrate the noise level of this city. Noise maps are generated using ARC-GIS to investigate the impact of road traffic noise on the soundscape of the city. The response of the public was appraised by a questionnaire. Due to variable traffic features, the equivalent noise level (Leq) as well as peak (L) and background noise (L) levels varied with location and time of the day. It was found that socio-demographic characteristics have no bearing on the amount of annoyance. However, a link was observed between age, hearing condition, and noise perception, as well as between gender and impacts of noise.