One of the primary characteristics affecting the unwantedness of noise is its loudness or perceived intensity.

Vibrations are perceived as a complement to loud noise in most community surveys of noise and are found to be important factors in determining annoyance.

After controlling for noise level, noise annoyance increases with fear of danger from the noise source, sensitivity to noise, the belief that the authorities can control the noise, awareness of the non-noise impacts of the source and the belief that the noise source is not important.