Q.Can we file a lawsuit against parents with noisy children if we are diagnosed with health damage by their noise?

  Q1.Can we file a lawsuit against parents with noisy children if we are diagnosed with health damage by their noise?

　A1.Referring to cases that have happened in Japan before, it is probably possible to bring a case to court. I would like to highlight a couple of examples and consider which cases are likely to be in favor of the complainant in court in practice. First, I will pick up actual instances below.

①    A case in which a claim for a noise injunction was granted against the noisy voices of children playing in a park. Even the voices were made by children, they were considered to be noise if they exceeded a certain volume. It resulted in the suspension of the use of the park's fountain, which was identified as the cause of the children's excited voices. (Lawsuits against the city that managed the park.)

②    A case in which the complainant sued over the voices and footsteps of children on the floor above and a judgment was granted for payment by the defendant. (Lawsuits against parents of a child who was making noise.)

Both of these cases were successful claims by the plaintiffs. These judgments show that a defendant cannot be always given a permissive sentence simply because 'it is a noise made by a child'. The common factor between the two cases mentioned earlier is that the noise levels exceeded certain standards set by the municipalities. Furthermore, these complainants had health problems in common. The former complainant was diagnosed by her doctor to be at rest due to her original health condition. In the latter case, the complainant's family members were documented to have suffered from insomnia and physical difficulties due to the stress caused by the noise. These cases show that even in the case of children's noise issues, which are basically considered to receive permissive decisions, the plaintiff's claim may be admissible under certain conditions.

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　Q2.What is the probability that residents themeselves who overreact to sound have some kind of problem?

　A2.So far, I have focused on a number of cases where there were problems on the part of the noise generator. However, if the child's voice or footsteps sounded at a normal level in general, could the complainant themselves have a problem? I will now give you some examples of diseases and characteristics of people who may be more sensitive to noise than others.

・Oversensitivity to sound - It is a very painful condition in which sounds resonate in the ears in a deafening way or reverberate in the head, causing earache or headache. In the medical field, it is generally estimated that 5-20% of people have hearing sensitivity. If the condition is later acquired, it may be due to stress or other factors.

・Autism spectrum disorder(ASD) - A developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Many people with ASD are more hypersensitive than others to sensations such as hearing and sight.

・Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) - One of the most common mental disorders, which have symptoms including inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity. People with this disorder may also have hearing sensitivity.

・Highly Sensitive Person(HSP) - Refers to a temperament that is extremely sensitive to external and internal stimuli. It is estimated that 15-20% of the total population has this particular temperament. This is considered to be an inborn personality trait, not a developmental disorder。

・Sensorineural deafness - Hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear and auditory nerve or brain centers. It is basically found in older people. In addition to difficulty in hearing sounds, they also suffer from symptoms such as sounds echoing more than it should.

 

Besides the four examples above, people who are under stress and unable to make normal decisions, or who suffer from mental illness, may react to noise more than necessary. In view of these circumstances, I personally consider that noise problems need to be tackled after careful consideration of the content.

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　Q3.If there is only one resident complaining of noise, how can you determine whether a child is really making noise?

　A3.As you can see from the cases discussed in the first answer, even if there is only one person who brings an action, they may still win the judgment. To give a bit more information on the example of the lawsuit against the noise of children in the park, the lawsuit was filed by just one woman in the neighborhood. This means that if you are really in trouble, you do not have to endure the cause of the noise, because even if it is only one person's complaint, the decision will be based on a thorough assessment of the circumstances. However, if you are bothered by noise, it is important to reconsider whether there is something wrong with yourself, as I highlighted in the second answer. If you notice symptoms such as "I suddenly became more sensitive to sound recently that didn't bother me before...", we recommend you consult a health care professional.

Published by Galina

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References and sources:

https://nh-noiselabo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bd1fb6ad5ab13fa3505c074855b235de.pdf 騒音訴訟記録 No.3, accesed in July 10

https://www.sankei.com/article/20230103-THTJSWRSPFLI3KTXFKOLWGF4LA/ 産経新聞 The Sankei News, published in January 2023, accesed in July 10

https://www.shiga-u.ac.jp/rcse/wp/wp-content/uploads/7562332d36fef6ee281be668f4f1e03d.pdf 滋賀大学環境総合研究センター研究年報, 学校と騒音をめぐる法的問題 子どもらの発する声や物音は「騒音」か？ 渡辺　暁彦, Study on the Noise Nuisance from School: With a Focus on Case of Kobe District Court on February 9, 2017 Akihiko WATANABE, published in 2018, accesed in June 9

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https://setagaya-yoga.clinic/sound_hypersensitivity.html 世田谷用賀クリニック, Setagaya Yoga Mental Clinic, accesed in June 13

https://www.saiseikai.or.jp/medical/column/hsp/ 社会福祉法人 恩賜財団済生会,Social Welfare Foundation Saiseikai, published in 2021 May 31, accesed in June 14

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aijt/26/62/26_169/_pdf/-char/ja 日本建築学会技術報告集,SURVEY ON SOUND ENVIRONMENT AND HYPERACUSIS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, Yoshiko MATSUI,Tetsuya SAKUMA, publidhed in Feburary 2020, accesed in June 14

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd#:~:text=Attention%2Ddeficit%2Fhyperactivity%20disorder%20(,in%20the%20moment%20without%20thought). American Phychiatric Association,Rana Elmaghraby, M.D. ,Stephanie Garayalde, M.D., published in June 2022, accesed in June 14

http://www.hachinohe.aomori.med.or.jp/simin/memo/memo64.html かねた内科耳鼻科医院　金田裕治, Kaneta Medical Otolaryngology Clinic, Kaneta Yuji, accesed in June 14