Noise-induced annoyance from transportation noise: short-term responses to a single noise source in a laboratory

J Acoust Soc Am. 2010 Feb;127(2):804-14. doi: 10.1121/1.3273896.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Acoustics
  • Adult
  • Aircraft
  • Algorithms
  • Auditory Perception*
  • Automobiles
  • Emotions*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Noise
  • Noise, Transportation*
  • Psychoacoustics
  • Railroads
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult