AbstractWe investigate the longitudinal association between multidimensional characteristics of everyday ambient sound and continuous mean heart rate. We used in-market data from hearing aid users who logged ambient acoustics via smartphone-connected hearing aids and continuous heart rate from their own wearables.We find that ambient acoustic characteristics explain approximately 4% of the fluctuation in mean heart rate throughout the day. Specifically, increases in ambient sound pressure intensity are significantly related to increases in mean heart rates, corroborating prior laboratory and short-term real-world data. In addition, however, and not previously recognized, increases in the ambient sound quality - that is, the difference between sound signal and noise - are associated with decreases in mean heart rates.Our findings document a mixed influence of everyday sounds on cardiovascular stress, and that the relationship is more complex than is seen from examination of sound intensity alone. Thus, our findings highlight the relevance of ambient environmental sound in models of human ecophysiology.
The everyday acoustic environment and its association with human heart rate: evidence from real-world data logging with hearing aids and wearables
