Showing papers on "Annoyance published in 2005"

Investigating the effectiveness of mental workload as a predictor of opportune moments for interruption

Abstract: This work investigates the use of workload-aligned task models for predicting opportune moments for interruption. From models for several tasks, we selected boundaries with the lowest (Best) and highest (Worst) mental workload. We compared effects of interrupting primary tasks at these and Random moments on resumption lag, annoyance, and social attribution. Results show that interrupting at the Best moments consistently caused less resumption lag and annoyance, and fostered more social attribution. Results demonstrate that use of workload-aligned models offers a systematic method for predicting opportune moments.

Noise and its effects - : A review on qualitative aspects of sound. Part II: Noise and annoyance

Abstract: The first part of this review has presented the principal effects of noise on human health and some physical and psychoacoustic ratings used to describe the quantitative and qualitative aspects of noise. This second part presents several factors leading to annoyance, some scaling techniques of annoyance and of qualitative aspects of noise generating annoyance, and finally, the case of annoyance caused by combined noise sources. The aim of this review, divided into two parts, is to provide the different persons involved in acoustics with a broad view and a non exhaustive list of different studies which have been carried out in the area of noise scaling.

Noise annoyance in Canada.

Abstract: The present paper provides the results from two nation-wide telephone surveys conducted in Canada on a representative sample of 5,232 individuals, 15 years of age and older. The goals of this study were to gauge Canadians' annoyance towards environmental noise, identify the source of noise that is viewed as most annoying and quantify annoyance toward this principal noise source according to internationally accepted specifications. The first survey revealed that nearly 8% of Canadians in this age group were either very or extremely bothered, disturbed or annoyed by noise in general and traffic noise was identified as being the most annoying source. A follow-up survey was conducted to further assess Canadians' annoyance towards traffic noise using both a five-item verbal scale and a ten-point numerical scale. It was shown that 6.7% of respondents indicated they were either very or extremely annoyed by traffic noise on the verbal scale. On the numerical scale, where 10 was equivalent to "extremely annoyed" and 0 was equivalent to "not at all annoyed", 5.0% and 9.1% of respondents rated traffic noise as 8 and above and 7 and above, respectively. The national margin of error for these findings is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The results are consistent with an approximate value of 7% for the percentage of Canadians, in the age group studied, highly annoyed by road traffic noise (i.e. about 1.8 million people). We found that age, education level and community size had a statistically significant association with noise annoyance ratings in general and annoyance specifically attributed to traffic noise. The use of the International Organization for Standardization/Technical Specification (ISO/TS)-15666 questions for assessing noise annoyance makes it possible to compare our results to other national surveys that have used the same questions.

Criteria for assessment of noise annoyance

Abstract: Day-night average sound level (DNL) and the relationship between DNL and community annoyance to noise are often presented to a community as part of a noise-assessment process, usually as established scientific fact. In reality, there is great scatter and variability in the attitudinal survey data that are the basis for the DNL-response relationship. As a result, there is significant uncertainty around the corresponding curves that are fitted to the data. This paper collects, tabulates, and compares recommended minimum DNL criterion levels for various types of communities and settings. The paper summarizes some of the recommended adjustments to DNL that are contained in ISO 1996-1:2003 and other factors that reduce the variations between predicted and reported community noise annoyance. The paper recommends that the appropriate DNL criterion level in residential areas should be between 50 dB and 55 dB. Differences between attitudinal survey data on community annoyance and predicted community responses can be minimized by use of adjustments, most of which are contained in ISO 1996-1:2003. Institute of Noise Control Engineering.

Effect of season and meteorological conditions on community noise annoyance

Abstract: More than 80 000 residents' responses to transportation noise from 42 studies conducted at different times of year provide statistical estimates of the effects of season and meteorological conditions on community response to noise. The strongest evidence for a seasonal effect comes from 7 years of continuous daily interviewing of nationally representative probability samples in the Netherlands. Long-term annoyance with noise is slightly, but statistically significantly, higher in the summer than in the winter. Analyses of 41 other surveys drawn from diverse countries, climates, and times of year also provide evidence that noise annoyance varies over the year, is increased by temperature, and may be increased by more sunshine, less precipitation, and reduced wind speeds. These findings are not sufficiently precise to determine whether the apparent relationships with meteorological conditions are only the result of seasonal variations or are also the result of differences in the climate at different locations. There is not consistent evidence that the meteorological conditions on the day of the interview or the immediately preceding days have any more effect on long-term noise annoyance measures than do the conditions over the immediately preceding weeks or months. © 2005 Acoustical Society of America.

The impact of an adverse neighbourhood soundscape on road traffic noise annoyance

Abstract: As a predictor of noise annoyance from road traffic, noise exposure is most often calculated at the most exposed side of the dwelling or apartment. This paper investigates whether an adverse neighbourhood soundscape - noisy areas along roads in the immediate neighbourhood of the dwelling - contributes to residential noise annoyance. The research hypothesis is that people react more strongly to noise when road traffic noise levels in the neighbourhood exceed the noise level at the most exposed facade of the dwelling. Such is the case for people living in apartments facing side streets and backyards or in second row dwellings that are shielded from a main road by intervening building structures. When these residents leave their dwellings to shop, walk, or wait for public transport, they usually encounter the high noise levels along the main street. Five socio-acoustical surveys featuring 3950 respondents were used to test the hypothesis. Results indicate that an adverse neighbourhood soundscape has a substantial impact on residential noise annoyance. Exposure-effect relationships ignoring neighbourhood soundscape information are misleading. In particular, annoyance reductions due to shielding apartments are likely to be overestimated, while the impacts of noise reduction at the source are likely to be underestimated.

Community response to Shinkansen noise and vibration: A survey in areas along the Sanyo Shinkansen Line

Abstract: A social survey on community response to Shinkansen noise was carried out in areas along the Sanyo Shinkansen Line in 2003. The sample size was 724 and the response rate was 66%. Since the noise barriers were constructed along the Shinkansen railway, the noise level was less than about 50 dB LAeq,24h. The relationships between LAeq,24h and % highly annoyed for general noise annoyance and various activity interferences caused by the Shinkansen were compared with those for conventional railways which were found in data collected in the same area in 2002. It has been reported that Shinkansen noise is more annoying than conventional railway noise. However, the reason is not yet clear. In the present study general noise annoyance and annoyance caused by vibration from the Shinkansen were also significantly greater at the same noise level than those of conventional railways. However, the other activity interferences were almost the same between both sources. It was hypothesized that Shinkansen vibration was more than conventional railways and that the Shinkansen vibration increased the noise annoyance more than conventional railways. In 2004, the measurements of vibrations from the Shinkansen and conventional railway were conducted in the same area to estimate the vibration exposure to each house. As a result it was found that the vibration levels from Shinkansen were significantly higher than those from conventional railways. Thus, the above hypothesis regarding the importance of vibration on noise annoyance was verified.

OR-05-6-4: Relating human productivity and annoyance to indoor noise criteria systems: a low frequency analysis

Abstract: A number of indoor noise criteria systems are used to quantifj; the background noise in a built environment, including Noise Criteria (NC), Balanced Noise Criteria (NCB), Room Criteria (RC), Room Criteria Mark II (RC Mark II), Aweighted Equivalent Sound Pressure Level (L Acq)' and others. An ongoing debate exists in the acoustical community over which criterion is the most appropriate to use in the variety of ambient noise situations encountered. In an effort to quantitatively support the use of an individual criterion, this project subjectively correlates these various criteria with human task performance and perception. Eleven subjects participated in a pilot study by completing ~)ping and proofreading tasks, as well as subjective ratings of loud ness, annoyance, and spectral quality. Results show that there were no significant differences in productivity scores among the 12 noise exposures tested; howevel; significant relationships were found between indoor noise criteria predictions of level and subjective perception of loudness and annoyance. In this study, RC and RC-Mark II were found to be the most correlated with level perception, although NC, NCB, and LAeq were also strongly correlated. Additionally, interesting relationships were found between subjective perceptions o.frumble or roar and criteria predictions of such. The authors are in the process of extending the pilot study to more subjects, as well as examining the effects of tonal and fluctuating background noise spectra on criteria predictions.

Annoyance of individual artifacts in MPEG-2 compressed video and their relation to overall annoyance

Abstract: In this work we describe a study on a limited number of artifacts in MPEG-2 compressed video with the primary aim to analyze how annoying these compression artifacts are. More specifically, the objectives were: (1) to determine how the subjective annoyances of individual artifacts contribute to the overall annoyance, (2) to obtain the subjective ranks of the artifacts, and (3) to determine what relationships exist between annoyance values and annoyance ranks. To this end, a psychophysical experiment was carried out in which observers provided us with their subjective assessment of video sequences. The results showed that at low compression bit-rates, the blocking artifacts were the most annoying, whereas at higher compression bit-rates the ringing artifacts were the most annoying. The blocking artifact had the highest mean annoyance rank across all videos and compression bit-rates. Mean annoyance values were ordered differently from mean annoyance ranks due to very high annoyance values associated with some artifacts. Overall annoyance was related to the total squared error by a Logistic function. Individual artifact annoyance was related to overall annoyance by a weighted Minkowski metric.

Complaint data as an index of annoyance--theoretical and methodological issues.

Abstract: Complaining constitutes one facet of all reactions to noise annoyance and is one way to cope with annoyance due to aircraft noise. In order to value and to establish the usefulness of complaint data as an index of annoyance, four questions need to be answered: Which factors lead annoyed residents to complain about aircraft noise or related issues? Which factors keep annoyed residents from complaining? Are the existing ways to handle annoyance adequate and efficient (e.g. keeping track of complaints, reaction to complains, kinds of complaint services)? Which are new ways to handle annoyance adequately and efficiently? In this paper a first attempt to answer these questions is made. Obviously, complaint data do not reflect noise annoyance in the surroundings of airports to the full extent as there are residents living in affected areas who do not complain, as well as residents living in areas with relatively low noise levels who complain. Also there is a large group of people who declare to be highly annoyed and yet, they do not lodge any complaint. Possible intervening factors are gathered that determine if an annoyed resident takes action and complains. It was found that noise levels per se are not the crucial factor for residents' decisions to complain or not to complain. Personal as well as feasibility factors play a vital role. Yet, the ongoing controversy on the relation between annoyance and complaint behaviour seems not resolved yet. However, complaint behaviour seems to be influenced by various aspects and complaint data consequently cannot be accepted as an accurate measure of public annoyance. Further research is required to address the preferred method of handling reaction to noise and the extent to which complaint itself helps with coping, for different groups of residents.

Comparison of noise impact indicators, calculated on the basis of noise maps of DENL

Abstract: In this paper, the following four indicators describing noise annoyance in a community are considered: the percentage of people being highly annoyed (pHA), annoyed (pA), (at least) little annoyed (p LA), and the mean of the expected individual annoyance scores (m EA) in the population concerned. These indicators are calculated for a study population on the basis of maps of the noise measure DENL, using DENL-annoyance relationships. An approach is described for comparing the effect of noise reduction, using the above mentioned noise annoyance indicators. For the municipality of Leiden, the Netherlands, the results from applying this approach indicate that the calculated efficacy of a given noise abatement policy depends to some extent on the noise annoyance indicator that is used. A lower limit of 55 dB for the noise calculations has been suggested by the EU Directive on environmental noise. This leads to a large underestimation of the noise annoyance indicators and may affect priority setting regarding noise abatement. Beside the four noise annoyance measures, two other noise quality indicators are considered: the percentage of people being highly sleep disturbed (p HS) and (AREA50) - the percentage area where DENL exceeds 50 dB. The results for Leiden show that each of these two indicators put more focus on noise from motorways than the other noise indicators considered. © S. Hirzel Verlag.

Perceptual Analysis of Video Impairments that Combine Blocky, Blurry, Noisy, and Ringing Synthetic Artifacts

Abstract: In this paper we present the results of a psychophysical experiment which measured the overall annoyance and artifact strengths of videos with different combinations of blocky, blurry, noisy, and ringing synthetic artifacts inserted in limited spatio-temporal regions. The test subjects were divided into two groups, which performed different tasks - 'Annoyance Judgment' and 'Strength Judgment'. The 'Annoyance' group was instructed to search each video for impairments and make an overall judgment of their annoyance. The 'Strength' group was instructed to search each video for impairments, analyze the impairments into individual features (artifacts), and rate the strength of each artifact using a scale bar. An ANOVA of the overall annoyance judgments showed that the artifact physical strengths had a significant effect on the mean annoyance value. It also showed interactions between the video content (original) and 'noisiness strength', 'original' and 'blurriness strength', 'blockiness strength' and 'noisiness strength', and 'blurriness strength' and 'noisiness strength'. In spite of these interactions, a weighted Minkowski metric was found to provide a reasonably good description of the relation between individual defect strengths and overall annoyance. The optimal value found for the Minkowski exponent was 1.03 and the best coefficients were 5.48 (blockiness), 5.07 (blurriness), 6.08 (noisiness), and 0.84 (ringing). We also fitted a linear model to the data and found coefficients equal to 5.10, 4.75, 5.67, and 0.68, respectively.

[Noise induced annoyance and morbidity. Results from the pan European LARES-survey].

Abstract: Traffic noise (road, train and flight noise, and the noise of parking cars), is the dominant source of annoyance in the living environment of many European countries. This is followed by neighbourhood noise (neighbouring apartments, staircases and noise within the apartment). The subjective experience of noise stress can, through central nervous processes, lead to an inadequate neuro-endocrine reaction and finally to regulation diseases. Within the context of the LARES-survey, noise annoyance within the everyday living environment was collected and evaluated in connection with medically diagnosed illnesses. Adults who indicated chronically strong annoyance due to neighbourhood noise were found to have an increased health risk in the cardiovascular system, the movement apparatus as well as depression and migraine. For adults with chronically strong annoyance caused by traffic noise, the risks to the respiratory system also increased. In older people, both neighbourhood and traffic noise indicated, in general, a lower risk of noise annoyance induced illness than in adults. It can be assumed that the effects of noise induced annoyance in older people is concealed by the physical consequences of age (with a strong increase in illnesses). With children, the effects of noise induced annoyance from traffic as well as neighbourhood noise is evident in the respiratory system. The increased illness risks in the respiratory system in children do not seem to be caused primarily by air pollutants but rather, as with case of neighbourhood noise, though emotional stress.

Annoyance with aircraft noise in local recreational areas and the recreationists' noise situation at home.

Abstract: Few socioacoustic studies have examined the effect of noise on outdoor recreationists. Most studies concentrate on one setting of the everyday life of a noise-exposed population, which mainly has been the residential setting. This article relates annoyance with aircraft noise in outdoor recreational areas to the recreationists’ noise situation at home. In conjunction with the relocation of the main airport of Norway in 1998, field studies were conducted before and after the change in one area near the old airport (1930 survey respondents), and one area near the new airport (1001 survey respondents). Multivariate linear regression analyses of the relationship between annoyance and aircraft noise exposure (LAeq for the aircraft events) in the recreational areas were conducted, controlled for noise annoyance at home, or aircraft noise exposure at home, the situation (before/after the change), context- and demographic variables. People more highly annoyed at home tended to be more annoyed than others while in...

Subjective annoyance caused by indoor low-level and low frequency noise and control method.

Abstract: The influence of low-level noise has not been widely noticed. This paper discovered that low-level and low frequency noise (A-weighted equivalent level Leq < 45 dB) causes higher probability of subjective annoyance. The fuzzy mathematic principle was applied to deal with the threshold level of subjective annoyance from noise in this study; there is preferable relationship between the indoor noise and noise annoyance at low frequency noise level. Study indicated at the same centered noise level, the change of annoyance probability is mainly caused by the change of the frequency spectrum characteristic of the indoor noise. Under low noise level environment, without change of the medium-low frequency noise, the slight increase of medium-high frequency noise level with the help of noise sheltering effect can significantly reduce the noise annoyance. This discovery brings a new resolution on how to improve the environmental quality of working or living places. A noise control model is given in this study according to the acoustic analysis.

Environmental noise, annoyance and sleep disturbance

Abstract: Summary A rough estimate of the number of people in the EU exposed to environmental noise (from road traffic, railway traffic and aircraft) above a day-evening-night-level of 55 dB(A) is 150 million (40 per cent), including about 120 million people exposed to road traffic noise. Adverse environmental noise-induced health effects mainly are annoyance, sleep disturbance, stress-related somatic effects, effects on learning in children, and possibly hearing damage. These effects occur in a substantial part of the EU population. In this chapter the relationships between annoyance and noise exposure to various types of environmental noise are given. With respect to sleep disturbance, this chapter discusses effects of night time noise on motility (motoric unrest), self-reported sleep disturbance, and self-assessed awakening.

청감실험을 통한 생활소음의 평가척도 및 기준 설정

Abstract: A 7-point verbal noise annoyance scale for residential noises was developed in this study. An auditory experiment using major residential noises such as air-borne, bathroom drainage, and traffic noises was conducted to develop a noise annoyance scale for rating residential noises and allowable limit of them. The modifiers used in the scales were selected according to the method proposed by ICBEN(international commission on the biological effect of noise) Team 6. Results showed that the intensity of the selected words in the 7-point noise annoyance scale was highly correlated with noise levels. and that the intensity difference between each pair of successive levels in the 7-point annoyance scale was almost identical. The allowable limit of residential noise was also investigated in the auditory experiment and that of airborne, drainage and traffic noises were 42.3 dB(A), 41.0 dB(A) and 42.7 dB(A), respectively.

Traffic noise exposure, education and annoyance: longitudinal experience from crosssectional surveys over time (1989-2004)

Abstract: Noise exposure is often differentially distributed with respect to indicators of socioeconomic status such as education, social class and income. Less consistent are the results regarding noise annoyance. Metaanalyses concluded that none of the investigated social or economic position variables have an important effect on annoyance – while weak effects may be possible. It is argued here, that have to be taking into account to fully understand the moderation due to education. The relationship of education with exposure and annoyance is evaluated here by socio-medical studies across time, taking into account additional social and health characteristics. The investigated areas are predominantly rural, where the tracks of the main road, the highway and the rail are running close in parallel through densely populated narrow alpine valleys. The results revealed a differential increase in noise exposure over time across the social strata. This change in exposure is not equivalently mirrored in the annoyance response. Overall, annoyance does not differ much by education. But, across communities the effect of education on annoyance varies significantly. Furthermore, vulnerability indicators differ significantly by education and coping is not a sufficient explanation for differencences in annoyance among ducational groups. Obviously, a broader framework is needed to understand the moderation by education when people try to cope with the sideeffects of transportation noise.

Aircraft noise annoyance in recreational areas after changes in noise exposure: comments on Krog and Engdahl (2004).

Abstract: When Gardermoen replaced Fornebu as the main airport for Oslo, aircraft noise levels increased in recreational areas near Gardermoen and decreased in areas near Fornebu. Krog and Engdahl [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 116, 323-333 (2004)] estimate that recreationists' annoyance from aircraft noise in these areas changed more than would be anticipated from the actual noise changes. However, the sizes of their estimated "situation" effects are not credible. One possible reason for the anomalous results is that standard regression assumptions become violated when motivational factors are inserted into the regression model. Standardized regression coefficients (beta values) should also not be utilized for comparisons across equations.

Event based noise annoyance modeling

Abstract: Classical dose response relationships for environmental noise annoyance have been based on Ldn or Lden. They represent the average response of people to the specific averaged noise level. To model the different response to various types of environmental noise different dose response relationships are used. Shifts in Ldn are used to model modifiers like the noise sensitivity. A unified theory that accounts for the different types of sound is clearly desirable. This paper presents a model that unifies the noise annoyance evaluation. The model starts with the premise that only noise that is noticeable causes annoyance. The threshold above which the noise is audible is not only dependent on the level of the noise event itself but also from the background noise, the specific activity of the person which determines the individual attention level, the insulation of the dwelling, etc. Modifiers like the noise sensitivity are included in the overall noise annoyance rating. Other modifiers can be plugged in the extensible modelling architecture. The model has been tested and evaluated against survey data (N=2007) collected in a difficult topography (Alpine valley in Austria). The unified model using the noise sensitivity performs better than the LAeq-only model even when the unified model uses only simplified traffic data from the two nearest roads and has no access to noise maps.

Community response to blast noise

Abstract: Although community response to impulsive noise from military operations is usually discussed for NEPA‐related purposes in terms of the prevalence of annoyance, it is managed on a local, daily basis in terms of numbers of recent complaints. Reconciling blast noise complaint rates with the annoyance predicted by dosage‐effect analysis would be of considerable benefit to the Army, since it would provide insight into the dynamics of community reaction to this distinctive form of noise exposure, and put its assessment and management on a common footing. This paper describes a systematic approach to the challenges of quantifying community reaction to blast noise. [Work supported by ERDC‐CERL.]

Psychological and social aspects of "transport and health"

Abstract: Psychological well-being is often considered different from health while in fact psychological and physiological effects are part of the same continuum and often cause each other. Apart from that psychology helps us to understand and moderate attitudes and behaviour concerning transport and mobility patterns. Although psychology can contribute to the transport-and-health debate it is still in need of better quantitative data. Personal traits and coping styles as well as other personal factors obtained by questionnaires and standardised psychological tests must be considered when studying environmental health effects. Census data in many countries as well as a lot of studies provide data on annoyance, fears, and expectations as well as behavioural adaptations in connection with the physical environment. Details on the prominent example of noise annoyance are given in the chapter on “environmental noise, annoyance and sleep disturbance“.

Calculation of noise values at addresses around two regional airports from radar data

Abstract: The "Attitudes to Aircraft Annoyance Around Airports" (5A) pilot study used focus groups and written surveys to investigate aspects of living in the area around airports and to better understand the annoyance felt by such residents at a European level. This exploratory study focused on aircraft noise impact as a key source of annoyance around three airports: Manchester International Airport, Lyon Saint-Exupery and Bucharest and attempted to identify the importance of noise in relation to other aspects. The questionnaire was designed using stated preference techniques offering a series of hypothetical choices related to changes in frequencies of aircraft movements, during different periods of the day thereby allowing a monetary valuation to be made of one aircraft movement. In order to analyse the annoyance as a function of noise, rather than movements, it was necessary to reliably model noise data for the current situation and for each option in the Stated Preference experiments at each respondent's address. The EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre's ENHANCE tool and the Integrated Noise Model enables aircraft noise to be modelled based on actual recorded radar data. Respondents'attitude could be directly correlated to the noise created by real aircraft events at the place where the respondent experienced them. This did not prove to be possible for Bucharest due to a lack of reliable cartography. The present paper explains the use of the ENHANCE tool in this context and the methods used to determine the values of different indices for each respondent, for all hypotheses, to reach informed conclusions about personal preferences and values concerning the perception of aircraft noise and a valuation of noise and annoyance.

Effects of Nocturnal Aircraft Noise - Volume 4 : Psychological Effects

Abstract: A sleep laboratory study with 128 subjects was run using questionnaires to investigate the psycho-logical effects of nocturnal aircraft noise on annoyance, subjective aircraft noise exposure (intensity and frequency), sleep sensation, mood, stress and recuperation. 112 subjects served as experimen-tal groups, and they were exposed to aircraft noise of various intensities and frequencies during nine nights. A validation of the laboratory results took place by means of a field study which was conducted with 64 residents living in the vicinity of the Konrad-Adenauer-Airport Cologne/Bonn. For the laboratory study, there is a significant influence of aircraft noise (i.e., significant main ef-fects of the aircraft noise parameters maximum noise level LAS,max, number of aircraft noise events (level frequency), energy equivalent noise level LAS,eq), but not on mood, stress and recuperation. Annoyance and subjective aircraft noise exposure increase significantly with rising LAS,max, level fre-quency and LAS,eq. Regarding the sleep sensation only the frequency and the LAS,eq are relevant. Ac-cording to the prediction of dose-response curves for noise annoyance, which were derived by means of random effects logistic regression, the percentage of aircraft noise annoyed persons in the laboratory rises with increasing LAS,max and frequency. In the field and laboratory, there is an in-crease of the number of noise annoyed persons with rising LAS,eq. In the laboratory, the percentage of annoyed persons decreases above 46.6 dB(A) due to the presentation of louder aircraft noise events with lower frequencies in the night. Thereby, the significance of the number of nocturnal flight movements for the noise annoyance is pointed out. This is confirmed by the predictions made by the field model applying the frequency as independent variable. For the laboratory, significant moderators of annoyance are the assessed “necessity” of air traffic, the gender and the aircraft noise pre-annoyance; for the field the adaptation to aircraft noise and the age are significant.

The importance of recording and playback technique for assessment of annoyance

Abstract: The study presented here is part of a project with an overall aim to evaluate how various physical properties of sound relate to annoyance. In order to achieve this it is necessary to study methodological aspects of importance for the experimentally evaluated annoyance. In previous studies of perception and response to sounds, several methods have been adopted both with regard to recording techniques (monophonic or binaural), playback techniques (through headphones or loudspeakers) and subjective evaluation techniques. The present study was carried out to investigate if there is a difference in perception related to annoyance, loudness and unpleasantness between monophonic recordings played back through a loudspeaker and binaural recordings played back via headphones and to evaluate whether a possible difference depends on temporal, spectral and spatial characteristics of the sound. The experiment adopted two psychometric methods for achieving responses from subjects, and different durations of the exposure were used. Fiftyfour subjects participated and three types of sounds were used in the experiments: everyday “restaurant” sounds (from using cutlery at platters, moving chairs, talking etc.), road traffic sound and a low-frequency ventilation sound. The sounds were recorded with two different techniques (monophonic and binaural) and each sound was played back at three different sound levels. The monophonic recordings were presented through a loudspeaker and the binaural recordings were presented through both closed (circum-aural) and completely open (free of the ear) headphones. The results show that for all judgments (annoyance, loudness and unpleasantness), there was no significant main effect of recording and playback techniques; however significant interactions between techniques and sounds were found.