Showing papers on "Annoyance published in 1998"

An Investigation and Assessment of Annoyance of Low Frequency Noise in Dwellings

Abstract: Appliances installed in residential buildings such as transformers, air-conditioners and freezers are often sources of low frequency noise. Although sound levels inside dwellings from these sources are low, the dwellers evaluate the noise as annoying. This paper presents the results of an investigation of annoying low frequency noise in dwellings. Measurement results are shown and methods of annoyance assessment are discussed.

Suprathreshold intensity and annoyance reactions in experimental challenge to toluene and n-butyl acetate among subjects with long-term solvent exposure

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study explores reactions to low-level chemical challenge, aiming at the development of test procedures for assessing individual sensitivity to smells and chemicals. METHODS: Subjects with symptoms and neuropsychological test results compatible with toxic encephalopathy type 2A (TE-2A) and 2B (TE-2B) and unexposed referents (N=12 in each group) were challenged in an exposure chamber. Toluene exposure was started at 11 mg/m3, and it followed a geometric progression scale with a ratio of 2, until reaching 180 mg/m3. In a counterbalanced design, the subjects were similarly exposed to n-butyl acetate starting at a concentration of 14 mg/m3 and increasing to 228 mg/m3. At each exposure level, smell intensity was measured on a 7-step category scale. Mucous membrane irritation and annoyance reactions were rated on visual analogue scales. RESULTS: Both TE groups showed high sensitivity to the low-level solvent challenge, which provoked immediate annoyance and fatigue reactions. In particular the TE-2B group related smell intensity to various annoyance dimensions during exposure to n-butyl acetate, a pattern not observed during toluene exposure. The reference group clearly separated smell intensity and annoyance reactions in both exposure conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The reaction of the TE cases suggests that chemical sensitivity can be distinguished from normal annoyance reactions by the inability to differentiate between smell intensity and an experience of irritation from mucous membranes in air concentrations well below the trigeminal irritation threshold level. Fatigue coreactivity in challenges to single substances below the neurotoxic level may also be important. (Less)

Assessment of Odor Annoyance and Its Relationship to Stimulus Concentration and Odor Intensity

Abstract: Results from the present study suggest that magnitude estimation of odor annoyance shows acceptable reliability and that it generates stable individual psychophysical power functions with relatively similar exponent sizes between subjects.

Hinder, slaapverstoring, gezondheids- en belevingsaspecten in de regio Schiphol, resultaten van een vragenlijstonderzoek

Abstract: As part of the Evaluation and Monitoring Programme for Schiphol airport, a questionnaire on the prevalence of self-rated annoyance, sleep disturbance, perceived general health, respiratory complaints, use of medication, and the perception of risks and the quality of life in the study area was sent to a randomly selected sample of 30,000 people living within 25 kilometers around Schiphol airport. The purpose of this study was to assess these factors in relation to the exposure to aircraft noise and air pollution. Exposure to aircraft noise was based on model calculations. The airport's proximity of the respondent's home was used as a proxy for air pollution caused by aircraft. The survey response rate was 39%. The results of this study show that annoyance from aircraft noise is greater than expected, also when the effect of selective non-response is taken into account. There is a relation between aircraft noise and noise annoyance, sleep disturbance, perceived health, the use of medication, and the perception of risks and the quality of life in the study area. The proximity of the airport was related to annoyance due to odors and soot from aircraft, respiratory complaints, and the use of medication for asthma and/or allergy. The result of this study will be used in developing a system to monitor the health status of those living in the vicinity when Schiphol airport is expanded.

Noise annoyance at different times of the working day

Abstract: Recordings of noise exposure and annoyance were collected for a group of 148 individuals. The recordings represented three different types of working environments; control rooms (n=57), offices in industry (n=34) and offices in public administration (n=37). In the control rooms the noise was dominated by lower frequencies of a monotonous character, whereas the noise in the offices was more varying. Noise recordings and ratings of annoyance were made at the beginning, the middle and the end of five successive days. The noise exposure levels varied between 39 and 64 dB(A). The results of the study are discussed with respect to differences in the exposure time related changes of annoyance in low frequency and high frequency environments. The results indicate that the annoyance level is stable during a working day and thus, that it is not affected by exposure time. However, annoyance increased somewhat from the first to the fifth working day among the control room group workers, whereas a trend in the opposite direction was seen in the office group.

Use of Airport Noise Complaint Files to Improve Understanding of Community Response to Aircraft Noise

Abstract: This study assessed the feasibility of using complaint information archived by modem airport monitoring systems to conduct quantitative analyses of the causes of aircraft noise complaints and their relationship to noise- induced annoyance. It was found that all computer-based airport monitoring systems provide at least rudimentary tools for performing data base searches by complainant name, address, date, time of day, and types of aircraft and complaints. Analyses of such information can provide useful information about longstanding concerns, such as the extent to which complaint rates are driven by objectively measurable aspects of aircraft operations; the degree to which changes in complaint rates can be predicted prior to implementation of noise mitigation measures; and the degree to which aircraft complaint information can be used to simplify and otherwise improve prediction of the prevalence of noise-induced annoyance in communities.

Combined qualitative and quantitative measurements to evaluate noises from combined sources

Abstract: Previous studies on assessing combined noises have shown the rating of environmental noises from combined sources as a very complex and difficult task. Disturbance and annoyance caused by the influence of noises require in their complexity an adequate procedure of evaluation. There are different theories to explain those rating results of an overall noise situation which is almost rated lower than the most annoying single source. If sounds are synergistic, the criteria and kinds of sources have to be found which are dominant for the person who assesses the noises. In traditional laboratory studies the context is faded out by the evaluation process, while the context effects in field studies play a decisive role and the evaluation of annoyance caused by noise allows the consideration of different factors in a situation where noises are combined. In a current socio‐ and psychoacoustical field study the process of assessing the noises and the noises as well are precisely described in interviews and acoustical diaries. In another combined procedure of qualitative‐explorative and objective‐standardized measurements in a laboratory setting specific noise components causing annoyance and disturbance have been identified. The special methodical procedure and results will be presented.

Situational and individual-difference correlates of annoyance extent and variability in daily provocations

Abstract: Objectives. This study wished to replicate previous findings on the effects of situational factors on annoyance extent of Israeli students in Canadian students, and to examine the roles of trait hostility and monitoring in annoyance extent and variability. Design. A within-subject design tested the effects of situational dimensions (e.g. damage, intentionality), on annoyance extent, and a correlational design tested the relation between individual-difference traits and annoyance extent and variability. Methods. Two Canadian student samples (N = 73 and N=79) completed a questionnaire to determine the effects of nine situational dimensions on annoyance extent. The second sample was additionally assessed for trait hostility (abbreviated Ho scale) and trait monitoring (Miller Behavioral Style Scale). Annoyance variability was defined as difference in annoyance extent between severe and mild provocations. Results. Eight situational dimensions conceptually related to harm (damage, correct-ability, investment), control/information (intentionality, expectedness, agent, preventability) and social context (audience) consistently affected annoyance extent. Hostility and monitoring were positively and significantly correlated with annoyance extent (r = .34, r = .31, respectively). Finally, hostility was negatively correlated with annoyance variability. Conclusions. Several situational dimensions were found to have a robust effect on annoyance extent cross-culturally. The negative correlation between hostility and annoyance variability may reflect cognitive and/or response biases. Interventions aimed at reducing health risks of hostile individuals (e.g. coronary heart disease) may need to alter these biases when facing provocations of different severity, to help them adapt more appropriately.

Effects of traffic noise within the Madrid region

Abstract: In this work the results of a 20‐question survey about the acoustic environment made on the population of 17 towns are presented. Up to 7141 questionnaires were distributed, where 3272 were conducted in population centers with more than 100 000 inhabitants, 2695 in towns below 100 000 and above 50 000 inhabitants, and 1174 in towns with less than 50 000 inhabitants. The aim of this statistical work is to estimate the citizens’ opinions about noise sources in their municipalities, the annoyance that these sources produce, where and when the effect seems stronger, and how the noise affects residential areas. There were also questions concerning the opinions about protection against noise in dwellings and the presumed effects of environmental noise. Finally, it was intended to know how important the residents think the environmental noise problem is, how deep their knowledge is about their rights and the law, and what do they think about measures to improve the situation.

Sound quality evaluation of heavy-duty engines in free field conditions

Abstract: Annoyance response to vehicle noise is commonly reported. The impact reduction measures must therefore be measured scientifically. A scientific system for describing and defining annoyance is there ...

Subjective response to aircraft flyover noise

Abstract: In order to obtain increased understanding of community response to aircraft noise, a comprehensive subjective study was designed and implemented to realistically simulate the aircraft noise exposure experienced by residents living both near and far from airports. The test was designed to present a wide range of daily aircraft noise exposures ranging broadly in both quantity and amplitude. The In‐Home study was supported by a computer controlled sound playback system which exposed test subjects to aircraft sounds during a daily 14 h test period. This system provided a degree of control over the noise exposure not found in community situations and a degree of situational realism not available in the laboratory. Each day the system played from 0 to 448 flyovers as the test subject went about his or her normal activities. At the end of the day, the test subjects rated their annoyance to the flyovers they had heard. The noise exposures presented during 9 weeks simulated different combinations of runway activity, aircraft flyover altitude, rush hour conditions, and occasional loud aircraft among many low sound level flights. Subsequent data analysis will seek to provide a basis of understanding of annoyance response to enhance predictive algorithms for a wide range of aircraft noise exposure conditions.

Trading level for number in the laboratory: Differential effects of aircraft noise on cardiovascular activation, annoyance, and assessment of quality of life

Abstract: As aircraft become quieter, the question arises to what extent the decrease in noise is convertable into an increase in the number of flight movements without enhancing psychological and physiological noise effects. Conventional reasoning has it that it suffices to keep constant the energy equivalent noise level. In a 3×3 design combining three number conditions (3/9/27 overflights during 30 min) with three noise level conditions (aircraft types emitting 71/76/81 dB(A) per overflight), this assumption was tested, using three groups of 12 subjects each for the number conditions, and repeated measurements for the level conditions. Comparisons between the equal‐energy conditions (e.g., 3×76 dB vs 9×71 dB) did not show any significant differences regarding systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. Regarding ratings for annoyance in the lab situation, results were the same with a slight tendency for underenergetic number effects, that means, more but softer aircraft were preferred. However, if the subjects imagined to reside in a region continuously exposed to the experienced noise, quality of living was assessed as slightly more negative for residential areas with nine overflights, and clearly more negative for 27 overflights, though energy was fixed. This suggests overenergetic number effects for living quality beginning at about 18 overflights/h.

Annoyance accumulation modeling in a community noise annoyance expert system

Abstract: When the state of the sound environment in a region is monitored by tracing the percentage of people who are annoyed by noise, simulation models for community noise annoyance are needed. They allow, for example, the prediction of the impact of various noise control measures. Building such simulation tools is not an easy task because information is scarce and relations between quantities involved are uncertain. Therefore, an expert system was built that makes optimal use of the scarce information and combines as many expert opinions as possible. Consensus mechanisms, representation of uncertain data, and model uncertainty are key factors in this model. Combination of annoyance caused by different sources is an important part of the system. Models proposed by various scientists are combined and compared to obtain the most likely global annoyance percentage. Both psychophysical and perceptual models can be applied at the same time. The probability approximation that is used for this task will be introduced. The results of this approach, which combines different opinions, will be shown for a number of example situations.

Parameters involved in low‐frequency noise annoyance

Abstract: Noise annoyance and related adverse responses evoked during exposures in low‐frequency environments are effected by a number of separate and interacting parameters. Laboratory as well as field studies have shown that in most cases the correlations between annoyance and noise levels or linear values are very weak. For descriptions of the fundamental correlations between low‐frequency noise exposure, annoyance, and related adverse effects, deeper knowledge about the different interacting factors is needed. One consequence of this deficient knowledge of the critical factors for low‐frequency noise annoyance is that well‐founded methods for the evaluation of annoyance and related adverse effects are still missing. Noise control, building and rebuilding of new acceptable environments, or other types of measures against the low‐frequency noise problems cannot be based only on evaluations of the dBA or other simple rating alternatives. For adequate evaluations and measures, deeper knowledge about interacting fac...

A further test of the relevance of ASEL and CSEL in the determination of the rating sound level for shooting sounds

Abstract: In a previous study on the annoyance caused by shooting sounds [Vos, Proc. Internoise ’96, 5, 2231–2236], it was shown that an almost perfect prediction of the annoyance, as rated indoors with the windows closed, was obtained on the basis of the weighted sum of the outdoor A‐weighted and C‐weighted sound exposure levels [ASEL (LAE) and CSEL (LCE)] of the impulse sounds. Basically, the annoyance (y) was given by y=c+αLAE+β⋅ΔL⋅LAE, in which ΔL=LCE−LAE. In that study, just one type of facade attenuation (FA) was simulated. In the present study, the annoyance was determined for four FA types that varied from low (windows slightly opened) to very high (20 dB at 16 Hz to 50 dB at 8 kHz). Again, the sounds were produced by firearms ranging in caliber from 7.62 to 155 mm, and were presented at different levels. In all four FA conditions, the annoyance could be very well predicted by the equation given above, multiple r2 varied from 95% to 97%. Relative to the prediction on the basis of ASEL only, the increase in ...