Quantifying the local acoustic effects of high-backed chairs

摘要

Local acoustic treatment around a person's head and body can influence the transmission of speech to and from the person, the perception of background noise, and the sound they hear of their own voice (autophony). This paper demonstrates ways to systematically quantify these acoustic effects in terms of oral, binaural and oral-binaural gains. Two pre-existing examples of high-backed chairs were selected as examples and measured using the proposed methods: one with a reflective back around the head, and the other providing greater enclosure and a sound absorptive interior. Results are interpreted by considering effects on speech transmission index (STI), background noise criterion (NC), A-weighted speech level, and vocal output (due to the influence of autophony), and the previously proposed speech reduction index ((D)s). Together, the gain parameters provide an indication of a treatment's potential to enhance speech communication, provide a quiet zone, reduce speech disturbance, and support a person's voice as they speak. Crown Copyright (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.