Iran Occupational Health

  Background and Aims: Traffic noise is one of the most important urban noise pollution, which causes various physical and mental effects, impairment in daily activities, sleep disturbances, hearing loss and the impact on job performance. Thus it can reduce concentration significantly and increase the rate of traffic accidents. Some individual differences such as personality types in noise effects, affect.

  Methods : Traffic noise has been measured and recorded in 10 arterial streets in Tehran, and the average sound pressure level measured was72/9 dB during two hours played for participants in the acousticroom . The sample size consisted of 80 patients (40 cases and 40 controls) who were students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Personality type was determined by using Eysenc’s Personality Inventory (EPI)questionnaire. The error time movement anticipation before and after exposure to traffic noisewas measured by ZBA computerize test.

  Results: The results revealed that error time movement anticipation before exposure to traffic noise have significant difference for introverts and extraverts Introverts have less errortime movement anticipation than extroversion ,whereas extroverts have less error time movement anticipation that introversion after exposure to traffic noise.

  Conclusion: According to the obtained results, noise created different effects on the performance of personality type. Extroverts may be expected to adapt better to noise during mental performance, compared to people with opposite personality traits.