Noise Evaluation of Karaoke Facilities in Korea
An experiment was conducted to evaluate potential noise exposures to naive commercial “Karaoke” users using a 2-way, mixed-factors design with 2 independent variables of Noise Source (no-singer, 1-singer, and 2-singer) and Music Type (Trot, Ballad, and Rock). Each member of two singer groups (a total of 18 subjects) sang 5 popular songs of each music type in each singing condition. Equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (Leq) and maximum sound pressure levels (Max Lp) were measured for data analysis purposes. The statistical analyses indicate that noise levels were significantly different according to noise source and music type. The levels under most popular singing conditions were very serious, especially when two people were singing: higher than the OSHA's 95 dBA exposure limit. Rock music generated above 95 dBA even under 1-singer source. Max Lp often exceeded the OSHA's 115 dBA non-permissible level under some singing situations. A spectrum analysis revealed that Karaoke noise may have a potential impact on the speech band (500 − 4000 Hz) hearing. Some noise abatement strategies and ergonomic issues are discussed.