Showing papers on "Annoyance published in 1996"

Sources and effects of low-frequency noise.

Abstract: The sources of human exposure to low-frequency noise and its effects are reviewed. Low-frequency noise is common as background noise in urban environments, and as an emission from many artificial sources: road vehicles, aircraft, industrial machinery, artillery and mining explosions, and air movement machinery including wind turbines, compressors, and ventilation or air-conditioning units. The effects of low-frequency noise are of particular concern because of its pervasiveness due to numerous sources, efficient propagation, and reduced efficacy of many structures (dwellings, walls, and hearing protection) in attenuating low-frequency noise compared with other noise. Intense low-frequency noise appears to produce clear symptoms including respiratory impairment and aural pain. Although the effects of lower intensities of low-frequency noise are difficult to establish for methodological reasons, evidence suggests that a number of adverse effects of noise in general arise from exposure to low-frequency noise: Loudness judgments and annoyance reactions are sometimes reported to be greater for low-frequency noise than other noises for equal sound-pressure level; annoyance is exacerbated by rattle or vibration induced by low-frequency noise; speech intelligibility may be reduced more by low-frequency noise than other noises except those in the frequency range of speech itself, because of the upward spread of masking. On the other hand, it is also possible that low-frequency noise provides some protection against the effects of simultaneous higher frequency noise on hearing. Research needs and policy decisions, based on what is currently known, are considered.

Effects of aircraft overflights on wilderness recreationists

Abstract: On‐site and telephone opinion surveys were conducted to assess outdoor recreationists’ annoyance with aircraft overflights of wilderness areas. Although current technology for measuring noise exposure does not yet permit accurate and cost‐effective estimates of dosage‐response relationships in outdoor recreational settings, it was nonetheless possible to construct a rough relationship between estimated aircraft noise exposure and annoyance from the data of the on‐site study. In the second survey, telephone interviews were administered to another sample of outdoor recreationists within 2 weeks of their return from visits to 12 wilderness areas. The prevalence of aircraft noise‐induced annoyance (in any degree) among respondents in all wilderness areas ranged from 5% to 32%. The prevalence of a consequential degree of aircraft noise‐induced annoyance among respondents was less than 5% in all wilderness areas combined. Noise‐induced annoyance proved to be a more direct measure of the effects of aircraft overflights on recreationists than more global measures such as visit satisfaction or intent to revisit.

Inappropriate alarm rates and driver annoyance

Abstract: Future in-vehicle crash avoidance warning systems will inevitably deliver inappropriate alarms from time to time, caused for example, by situations where algorithms have correctly identified an object but pose no threat or danger to the driver. The current state of knowledge does not permit an estimate of how many inappropriate alarms users find unacceptable, and how that rate may vary with factors like the type of signal generated by the system (i.e., tone versus voice), or extended experience with the warning system itself. The purpose of this study is a direct comparison of drivers' subjective annoyance towards inappropriate alarms as a function of rate of occurrence and the type of signal generated in naturalistic, on-road driving conditions. Test equipment to generate and present signals, and to collect driver response was installed in fifteen participants' personal vehicles for a nine week period. Signals were presented at random times while the participants engaged in their normal, daily driving routines. In order to simulate future operating conditions where actual alarm warnings will require the driver's attention and reaction, "appropriate" alarms to which the driver had to make a simple motor response, and "inappropriate" alarms to which the driver did not have to make any response, were presented. Inappropriate tonal alarms were presented at four different frequencies of occurrence, including averages of four per hour, one per hour, one per four hours, and one per eight hours of driving time. In addition, a voice warning condition was included, at a rate averaging one per hour. Participants made daily and weekly ratings of the degree of annoyance that resulted from the nuisance alarm schedule. The 4/hour tone and the 1/hour voice were significantly more annoying, and less acceptable, than the other conditions. Participants showed a wide range of annoyance sensitivity, but the two most annoying conditions appear to be unacceptable, while the less frequent rates do appear potentially reasonable for functional systems.

Perceptions of Rural Air Quality: What Will the Neighbors Think?

Abstract: Individuals exposed to odors from livestock facilities do not report annoyance uniformly. The reaction to a detectable odor depends on perceptions of the odor and its source which are mediated by odor attributes and personal factors. Correlations among these factors were tested in a rural context using date from a pilot study of seventeen households neighboring two swine operations in Michigan. Annoyance was measured as the impact of the neighboring facility on enjoyment of property. Characterization of odor as a problem was positively correlated with offensiveness, frequency and duration of exposure. Annoyance was negatively correlated with term of residence, current employment on a farm, and acquaintance with the facility owner. Annoyance was positively correlated with suburban characterization of the residence, unacceptability of the facility’s appearance and perception of odor as a problem. Strategies to minimize exposure augmented by increasing familiarity with the operation and owner can reduce annoyance.

Hygienic Assessment of Low Frequency Noise Annoyance in Working Environments

Abstract: Different ways of assessing low frequency noise below the level of hearing damage to predict noise annoyance are treated. Three methods for classification of low frequency noise are tested. Some as...

Rating the Annoyance of Synthesized Tinnitus.

Abstract: Ten tinnitus sufferers mimicked the sensation caused by their tinnitus with a complex sound pattern consisting of the sum of sine waves. The annoyance of these ten sounds was then rated on a scale from I (not annoying) to 10 (very annoying) by some of the tinnitus sufferers and by 50 normal-hearing subjects. For the normal-hearing subjects, the number assigned to rate the annoyance of each sound varied widely from subject to subject, while the rank ordering of the ratings was in rough agreement. Because rankings have less inter-subject variability than ratings, ranking are likely preferable as a dependent variable in the clinical assessment of tinnitus. The correlation between the ratings of the ten stimuli by the subjects with normal hearing and the subjects with tinnitus averaged 0.90, indicating that the tinnitus sufferers and the normal-hearing subjects tended to judge the annoyance of the sounds in a similar fashion. Further, the rating of the subject's own tinnitus lay near the regression line, indicating that the subject judged his own tinnitus imitation no differently than he judged the annoyance of other sounds.

Comparison of the Performance of Noise Metrics as Predictions of the Annoyance of Stage 2 and Stage 3 Aircraft Overflights

Abstract: Thirty audiometrically screened test participants judged the relative annoyance of two comparison (variable level) and thirty-four standard (fixed level) signals in an adaptive paired comparison psychoacoustic study. The signal ensemble included both FAR Part 36 Stage 2 and 3 aircraft overflights, as well as synthesized aircraft noise signatures and other non-aircraft signals. All test signals were presented for judgment as heard indoors, in the presence of continuous background noise, under free-field listening conditions in an anechoic chamber. Analyses of the performance of 30 noise metrics as predictors of these annoyance judgments confirmed that the more complex metrics were generally more accurate and precise predictors than the simpler methods. EPNL was somewhat less accurate and precise as a predictor of the annoyance judgments than a duration-adjusted variant of Zwicker's Loudness Level.

Subjective Annoyance Response to Diesel Engine Sound During Idling Conditions.

Abstract: Subjective annoyance response to diesel engine sound during idling conditions was evaluated by 80 participants. Eight different sound spectra were presented to the participants at a constant level of 80 dB(A) in a paired comparison procedure. Stereo-recorded sound stimuli were played back through a pair of loudspeakers in an anechoic room. Four objective parameters of loudness, sharpness, impulsiveness, and roughness were found to be the determining factors that cause subjective annoyance. An annoyance prediction model for the test stimuli of an idling diesel engine was developed on the basis of these factors. The objective parameters and their interactions have a significant effect on the annoyance prediction model. The spectral distribution indicated by test participants to be pleasant can be used as a basis for appropriate modification of engine sound. A single microphone measurement in free field conditions can be used to estimate objective parameters for defining the cause of annoyance.

The effect of softball bat vibration frequency on annoyance ratings

Abstract: INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to determine annoyance level associated with gripping a softball bat handle vibrating at different frequencies and intensities. Grip pressure at the point of maximum sensitivity and/or annoyance (GPRESMAX) was also estimated METHODS Twenty-six college males (n=13) and females (n= 13) ranging In age from 25 to 30 volunteered to participate. An eIectromechanical apparatus was used to excite the handle of an aluminium softball hat at the following frequencies while each subject grasped it with gradually increasing grip pressure: 100, 125. 160.200.250. 315, and 385 Hz. A plywood box covered the vibration apparatus to reduce ambient noise. Also, each subject wore ear plugs and ear muffs during the tests. Subjects placed their right hand on the vibrating rod with the first knuckle of the forefinger. wrist and elbow joints in alignment with the movement direction of the rod. The shaker provided two levels of excitation at 100 Hz (6 and 12 amps) and three levels of excitation (6, 12, and 18 amps) at each of the other frequencies. For each test, each subject grasped the vibrating rod with grip firmness gradually increasing from slight to maximum. After each condition, the subject rated the annoyance level on visual analogy scales 5 cm in length. RESULTS Annoyance was significantly related to both frequency and intensity increasing with increased intensity, and decreasing as the frequency increased. Post hoc group-by-group comparisons (least significant difference method) showed annoyance levels for 250. 315, and 385 Hz were significantly below those of all lower frequencies. Also, the annoyance level was highest at 160 and 200 Hz No relationship between subject sex and annoyance was loud. CONCLUSIONS Annoyance level was not related to subject sex, size, or grip strength. However, annoyance was highly and significantly related to both frequency and intensity of vibration, contributing to 23 and 20 per cent of the variability, respectively. These results indicate that hand-held implements with relatively higher fundamental frequencies are less annoying than those with lower fundamental frequencies

Laboratory Study of the Noticeability and Annoyance of Sounds of Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Abstract: This report describes a study of the noticeability and annoyance of intruding noises to test participants who were engaged in a distracting foreground task. Ten test participants read material of their own choosing while seated individually in front of a loudspeaker in an anechoic chamber. One of three specially constructed masking noise environments with limited dynamic range was heard at all times. A laboratory computer produced sounds of aircraft and ground vehicles as heard at varying distances at unpredictable intervals and carefully controlled levels. Test participants were instructed to click a computer mouse at any time that a noise distinct from the background noise environment came to their attention, and then to indicate their degree of annoyance with the noise that they had noticed. The results confirmed that both the noticeability of noise intrusions and their annoyance were closely related to their audibility.