It notes that the FAA says about half a million people are currently impacted by aviation noise (ie 65db) and that the agency is targetting a 4% annual reduction in that figure through 2012.
The 2012 target looks plausible but after that it seems things are less clear-cut.
NASA has R&D work in hand that fits well with with the FAA work, but the NASA activity is intended to lead to the introduction of waves of quieter aircraft types in 2015, then 2020-2025, and 2030-2035.
That scenario is a hostage to fortune, however, because the airlines' fleet renewal plans are so unpredictable. Worse, from a US standpoint, US carriers are lagging considerably in refleeting already.
And the GAO also points out that some technical aspects of emissions-countering R&D are to a significant extent playing against lower noise levels.
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