Noise-induced annoyance from transportation noise: short-term responses to a single noise source in a laboratory.
An experimental study was performed to compare the annoyances from civil-aircraft noise, military-aircraft noise, railway noise, and road-traffic noise. Two-way within-subjects designs were applied in this research. Fifty-two subjects, who were naive listeners, were given various stimuli with varying levels through a headphone in an anechoic chamber. Regardless of the frequency weighting network, even under the same average energy level, civil-aircraft noise was the most annoying, followed by military-aircraft noise, railway noise, and road-traffic noise. In particular, penalties in the time-averaged, A-weighted sound level (TAL) of about 8, 5, and 5 dB, respectively, were found in the civil-aircraft, military-aircraft, and railway noises. The reason could be clarified through the high-frequency component and the variability in the level. When people were exposed to sounds with the same maximum A-weighted level, a railway bonus of about 3 dB was found. However, transportation noise has been evaluated by the time-averaged A-weighted level in most countries. Therefore, in the present situation, the railway bonus is not acceptable for railway vehicles with diesel-electric engines.
Center for Environmental Noise and Vibration Research, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Room 205, Building 44, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea. kjh03@snu.ac.kr
Jaehwan
J
Kim
Changwoo
C
Lim
Jiyoung
J
Hong
Soogab
S
Lee
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D000465:Algorithms; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001336:Automobiles; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D009624:Noise, Transportation; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D011890:Railroads; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult