IN ENGLISH There are many things which cause damage to the environment involving noise, although the damage caused to the environment by noise is not one of the most discussed topics in area of environmental protection. The negative effect caused by noise is as bad as the negative effect caused by other sources of damage. For this reason the extent of noise made by using devices and providing services have to be regulated by law. The legislative regulation is the only possible way to provide effective protection to the human health and well-being as well as the environment. Creation of appropriate legislation for the issue of noise, and its effect on the environment and ensuring that this legislation will be followed, and exacted should be a priority in trying to protect the environment against noise.

Die Broschüre bietet Hilfestellung bei der Vorbereitung und Umsetzung der Lärmaktionsplanung und erläutert die Ziele sowie die rechtlichen und fachlichen Grundlagen. In übersichtlicher und verständlicher Form werden Hinweise zu den sieben Planungsschritten bis zur Bekanntmachung des Lärmaktionsplanes gegeben.

Die Broschüre bietet Hilfestellung bei der Vorbereitung und Umsetzung der Lärmaktionsplanung und erläutert die Ziele sowie die rechtlichen und fachlichen Grundlagen. In übersichtlicher und verständlicher Form werden Hinweise zu den sieben Planungsschritten bis zur Bekanntmachung des Lärmaktionsplanes gegeben.

This thesis investigates and design innovative concepts of noise protection solutions (NPS) for the Swedish high-speed railway (HSR) that is planned to be built between Stockholm and Gothenburg in the near future. The planned traffic will start in 2035. The concepts have been developed through a design process, starting with a research phase of existing solutions for the problem, theory about noise and absorbing materials. Following by an analysis of all researched data to narrow down the project and the interviews with the Swedish transport administration, this in order to pinpoint the requirements for the NPS. To get opinions from people who are exposed to low frequency noise, two questionnaires were conducted with a total of 80 respondents. Because of the difficulty to find the exact target group of people who are only exposed to the noise from high speed trains, the first questionnaire was open for all people who are exposed to low frequency noise (traffic noise). The second questionnaire was published at Trafikverket Facebook page, and because of their high number of followers, people who are exposed to train noise could easily be reached. From the answers and the analyzed data, a requirement specification for the NPS was created with all the requirements that the NPS needed to have according to Trafikverkets standards and from the questionnaire. These requirements were the prerequisite used in the synthesis phase. Different brainstorming methods were used to develop a large amount of ideas. A workshop with people from the society was held to keep the creativity alive. From the first synthesis phase, six ideas out of 160 ideas were chosen by a dot evaluation, and in order to narrow down the ideas even more, a matrix evaluation was used. The matrix was built from the requirement specification to verify which ideas fit most of the requirements for a new NPS. From this evaluation, two concepts were chosen to be developed further. After a validation from Trafikverket, the two concepts were further developed, this by an open brainstorming session. Via discussions and sketching, new ideas for the concepts arose. We found solutions for the problems that arose with each concept and made final decisions about the design and material. Three concepts were 3D visualized in the CAD program Rhinoceros. Final touches of the concepts were made in Keyshot. Throughout this thesis, three concepts for noise protections for the HSR have been developed and the research question “How can innovation be created by using a design process?” have been discussed and answered.

Abstract This research on military aviation noise was conducted because the personnel working with military aircraft were concerned about noise induced hearing damage. In addition, comprehensive data on hearing impairments and occupational exposure of military pilots in the Finnish Air Force was not available. Moreover, data on the effects of overflight noise of military jets was necessary for the evaluation of noise induced hearing deteriorations of members of the public who might be exposured accidentally for the low-level jets' overflights. The averaged noise exposure levels of pilots varied during a flight from 97 dB(A) to 106 dB(A) in the cockpit and from 83 dB(A) to 100 dB(A) at the entrance of the ear canal. Radio noise was 4–10 dB higher than background noise inside the helmet. The attenuation provided by air crew helmets varied from10 to 21 dB(A) in the laboratory, and was at the same level during real flights. The attenuation measured in the laboratory and in working conditions was about 30 dB(A) for earmuffs. An active noise cancellation (ANC) device decreased averaged noise exposure (LAeq8min) 4–8 dB over the noise attenuation of the same helmets when the ANC system was off. The noise of overflights by military jets were measured and the noise levels were lower than those known to cause the permanent threshold shifts. However, noise induced hearing damages might be possible in certain conditions. In order to assess the hearing loss risk of pilots, hearing thresholds were measured before and after one flight using both conventional and extended high frequency (EHF) audiometry. Minor temporary threshold shifts (TTS) were revealed. The risk of noise-induced damage at the studied exposure levels is, in all probability, rather small. A novel NoiseScan data management system proved to be an interesting tool in assessment of the risk of developing hearing impairment on the basis of known risk factors. Due to the small number of risk factors, the hearing of pilots was shown to be at considerably less risk than that of industrial workers in Finland.