What Actually Cuts Road, Rail and Aircraft Noise

Road and rail: broadband, near-continuous

Road and rail noise is broadband and close to constant, so upgraded windows, sealed doors and STC-rated glazing meaningfully cut what gets through. Forest Hill, TX's reading is road-dominant; Amarillo, TX's is rail-dominant. The fix is largely the same for both, though very low-frequency freight rumble travels through a wall as much as through the glass, so rail-heavy locations sometimes need more than window work alone.

Aircraft: intermittent and low-frequency

Boston, MA's reading is aviation-dominant. Aircraft noise arrives in loud, intermittent passes rather than a steady hum, and carries more low-frequency energy, which is why a standard window upgrade helps less against it than it does against road or rail noise.

Why the FAA funds a different fix

The FAA's Part 150 program funds whole-building sound insulation, not just windows, for homes inside an airport's own officially adopted 65 DNL noise contour, precisely because aircraft noise needs an envelope-level fix rather than a glazing upgrade. Eligibility is airport-specific and requires that airport's own adopted contour map; a high aviation reading on this site is a reason to ask the local airport authority, not proof of eligibility on its own.

Where to go next

Real examples: Forest Hill, TX, Amarillo, TX, Boston, MA.

Why New York City Shows Up "Quiet" Here · How NoiseLevelCheck Reads the Federal Noise Map