Whilst the actual thrust used to perform a steep approach may be very similar to a standard approach, the (ground) noise footprint is smaller. But the best advice to people affected by aircraft noise is to move back to where you came from. Do not buy your next house near a F
g airport. The majority of airport noise is generated by whingers who shortly after moving house close to a well established airport, start to complain about the noise of aircraft. Another top tip to tits like these would be - Don't move close to a tanning factory or refuse handling centre if you don't like bad smells, etc.
Another solution might be to spread the noise about a bit, bit that is not possible because of "noise abatement procedures". At certain airports this means that for certain houses, for a minimum of seven miles out, they will be hit with noise by every single approach. Sounds more like a noise maximisation procedure to me.
PM