Annoyance Related to Low Frequency Noise in Subjective Assessment of Workers

摘要

The aim of this study was to assess annoyance related to low frequency noise(LFN) in employees of the control rooms and office-like areas. Subjects were 276 workers, aged 26-62 years, exposed to noise at A-weightedsound pressure level (SPL) of 41-6 dB. They were asked to assess noiseannoyance at their workplace using a 100 point graphical scale. The subjectiveratings were compared with various noise metrics and objective evaluationsbased on proposed LFN exposure criteria for occupational settings. There was a difference in annoyance assessment related to noise with andwithout (or with less prominent) low frequency content. Low frequency noisewas rated as more annoying even though it was at lower dBA levels.Among the noise metrics, the low frequency A-weighted SPL yielded thehighest correlation with subjective evaluations of LFN. There was also a quitegood agreement between individual annoyance ratings and limit excessescorresponding to preliminary Swedish and Polish exposure criteria.