title: Aircraft noise and speech intelligibility in an outdoor living space.
abstract: Studies of effects on speech intelligibility from aircraft noise in outdoor places are currently lacking. To explore these effects, first-order ambisonic recordings of aircraft noise were reproduced outdoors in a pergola. The average background level was 47 dB LA eq. Lists of phonetically balanced words (LAS max,word = 54 dB) were reproduced simultaneously with aircraft passage noise (LAS max,noise = 72-84 dB). Twenty individually tested listeners wrote down each presented word while seated in the pergola. The main results were (i) aircraft noise negatively affects speech intelligibility at sound pressure levels that exceed those of the speech sound (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N < 0), and (ii) the simple A-weighted S/N ratio was nearly as good an indicator of speech intelligibility as were two more advanced models, the Speech Intelligibility Index and Glasberg and Moore's [J. Audio Eng. Soc. 53, 906-918 (2005)] partial loudness model. This suggests that any of these indicators is applicable for predicting effects of aircraft noise on speech intelligibility outdoors.
authors.affiliation: Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jesper J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Alvarsson
authors.affiliation: Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nordström
authors.affiliation: SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, SP Energy Technology, Box 857, SE-50115 Borås, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lundén
authors.affiliation: Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Nilsson
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009038:Motion; D009624:Noise, Transportation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010700:Phonetics; D011312:Pressure; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult