Thresholds and Acceptability of Low Frequency Pure Tones by Sufferers

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukio Inukai ◽  
Hideto Taya ◽  
Shinji Yamada

In order to investigate sensory thresholds and to make subjective evaluations of low frequency pure tones in noise sufferers who complain of annoying environments in their everyday life, sound pressure levels of sensory thresholds and subjectively acceptable maximum SPL levels for a living room were measured in a low frequency chamber. These measurements involved a psychophysical experiment using eleven pure tones at low frequencies from 10Hz to 100 Hz as stimuli, and the psychophysical method of subject adjustment was used for the measurements. Twelve members of the noise-sufferer's society in Japan participated as subjects (referred to as participants in the measurement experiment). The results show that all the participants' acceptable maximum sound pressure levels were relatively low, and nearly equal to their sensory thresholds. These results are characteristic of the participants and differ from the previous results obtained from the other adults.

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukio Inukai ◽  
Norio Nakamura ◽  
Hideto Taya

Equal unpleasantness sound pressure levels of pure tones from 10 Hz to 500Hz were obtained by the method of adjustment in which subjects adjusted sound pressure levels equating to subjective degrees of unpleasantness on a 4–steps rating scale. In addition, the maximum acceptable sound pressure levels were measured at each frequency, assuming four types of situations, that is, a living room, a bedroom, an office and a factory. It was found that the acceptable limits were equivalent to very low levels of unpleasantness in some situations. The third order polynomial models of physical variables were well fitted to the subjective response data.


2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasunao Matsumoto ◽  
Yukio Takahashi ◽  
Setsuo Maeda ◽  
Hiroki Yamaguchi ◽  
Kazuhiro Yamada ◽  
...  

Perception thresholds of complex low frequency noises have been investigated in a laboratory experiment. Sound pressure levels that were just perceptible by subjects were measured for three complex noises and three pure tones. The complex noises had a flat constant spectrum over the frequency range 2 to 10, 20, or 40 Hz and decreased at 15 dB per octave at higher frequencies. The frequencies of the pure tones used in this study were 10, 20 and 40 Hz. The perception thresholds were obtained using an all-pass filter, one-third octave band filters, and the G frequency weighting defined in ISO 7196. The G-weighted sound pressure levels obtained were compared with 100 dB which is described in ISO 7196 as the G-weighted level corresponding to the threshold of sounds in the frequency range 1 to 20 Hz. The perception thresholds of the pure tones measured in this study were comparable to the results available in various previous studies. The one-third octave sound pressure levels obtained for the thresholds of the complex noises appeared to be lower than the measured thresholds of the pure tones. The G-weighted sound pressure levels obtained for the thresholds of the complex noises appeared to be lower than 100 dB.


1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail L. MacLean ◽  
Andrew Stuart ◽  
Robert Stenstrom

Differences in real ear sound pressure levels (SPLs) with three portable stereo system (PSS) earphones (supraaural [Sony Model MDR-44], semiaural [Sony Model MDR-A15L], and insert [Sony Model MDR-E225]) were investigated. Twelve adult men served as subjects. Frequency response, high frequency average (HFA) output, peak output, peak output frequency, and overall RMS output for each PSS earphone were obtained with a probe tube microphone system (Fonix 6500 Hearing Aid Test System). Results indicated a significant difference in mean RMS outputs with nonsignificant differences in mean HFA outputs, peak outputs, and peak output frequencies among PSS earphones. Differences in mean overall RMS outputs were attributed to differences in low-frequency effects that were observed among the frequency responses of the three PSS earphones. It is suggested that one cannot assume equivalent real ear SPLs, with equivalent inputs, among different styles of PSS earphones.


2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jishnu K. Subedi ◽  
Hiroki Yamaguchi ◽  
Yasunao Matsumoto ◽  
Mitsutaka Ishihara

Annoyance of low frequency pure and combined tones was measured in a laboratory experiment. Three low frequency tones at frequencies of 31.5, 50 and 80 Hz at four sound pressure levels, from about 6 dB to 24 dB above average hearing threshold, were selected as pure tones. The combined tones were combinations of two tones: the four levels of 31.5, 50 and 80 Hz tones and a constant level 40 Hz tone. The results showed that the rate of increase in annoyance of pure tones with increase in the sound pressure level was higher at lower frequencies, as reported in previous studies. The results for the combined tones showed that the increase in the annoyance of the combined tone compared to the annoyance of pure tone was dependent on the level difference of the two tones and their frequency separation. These results were compared with the evaluation obtained from different objective methods. The three methods were Moore's loudness model, the low frequency A-weighting and the total energy summation used as objective evaluation methods. Among the methods, the low frequency A-weighting gave the best correlation.


Author(s):  
Carlos Alberto Echeverri-Londoño ◽  
Alice Elizabeth González Fernández

Several noise propagation models used to calculate the noise produced by wind turbines have been reported. However, these models do not accurately predict sound pressure levels. Most of them have been developed to estimate the noise produced by industries, in which wind speeds are less than 5 m/s, and conditions favor its spread. To date, very few models can be applied to evaluate the propagation of sound from wind turbines and most of these yield inaccurate results. This study presents a comparison between noise levels that were estimated using the prediction method established in ISO 9613 Part 2 and measured levels of noise from wind turbines that are part of a wind farm currently in operation. Differences of up to 56.5 dBZ, with a median of 29.6 dBZ, were found between the estimated sound pressure levels and measured levels. The residual sound pressure levels given by standard ISO 9613 Part 2 for the wind turbines is larger for high frequencies than those for low frequencies. When the wide band equivalent continuous sound pressure level is expressed in dBA, the residual varies between −4.4 dBA and 37.7 dBA, with a median of 20.5 dBA.


Author(s):  
Henry A. Scarton ◽  
Kyle R. Wilt

Sound power levels including the distribution into octaves from a large 149 kW (200 horsepower) gyro rock crusher and separate asphalt plant are presented. These NIST-traceable data are needed for estimating sound pressure levels at large distances (such as occurs on adjoining property to a quarry) where atmospheric attenuation may be significant for the higher frequencies. Included are examples of the computed A-weighted sound pressure levels at a distance from the source, including atmospheric attenuation. Substantial low-frequency sound power levels are noted which are greatly reduced in the far-field A-weighted sound pressure level calculations.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Batra ◽  
S. Kuwada ◽  
T. R. Stanford

1. Localization of sounds has traditionally been considered to be performed by a duplex mechanism utilizing interaural temporal differences (ITDs) at low frequencies and interaural intensity differences at higher frequencies. More recently, it has been found that listeners can detect ITDs at high frequencies if the amplitude of the sound varies and an ITD is present in the envelope. Here we report the responses of neurons in the inferior colliculi of unanesthetized rabbits to ITDs of the envelopes of sinusoidally amplitude-modulated (SAM) tones. 2. Neurons were studied extracellularly with glass-coated Pt-Ir or Pt-W microelectrodes. Their sensitivity to ITDs in the envelopes of high-frequency sounds (> or = 2 kHz) was assessed using SAM tones that were presented binaurally. The tones at the two ears had the same carrier frequency but modulation frequencies that differed by 1 Hz. This caused a cyclic variation in the ITD produced by the envelope. In this "binaural SAM" stimulus, the carriers caused no ITD because they were in phase. In addition to the binaural SAM stimulus, pure tones were used to investigate responses to ipsilateral and contralateral stimulation and the nature of the interaction during binaural stimulation. 3. Neurons tended to display one of two kinds of sensitivity to ITDs. Some neurons discharged maximally at the same ITD at all modulation frequencies > 250 Hz (peak-type neurons), whereas others were maximally suppressed at the same ITD (trough-type neurons). 4. At these higher modulation frequencies (> 250 Hz), the characteristic delays that neurons exhibited tended to lie within the range that a rabbit might normally encounter (+/- 300 microseconds). The peak-type neurons favored ipsilateral delays, which correspond to sounds in the contralateral sound field. The trough-type neurons showed no such preference. 5. The preference of peak-type neurons for a particular delay was sharper than that of trough-type neurons and was comparable to that observed in neurons of the inferior colliculus that are sensitive to delays of low-frequency pure tones. 6. At lower modulation frequencies (< 150 Hz) characteristic delays often lay beyond +/- 300 microseconds. 7. Increasing the ipsilateral intensity tended to shift the preferred delay ipsilaterally at lower (< 250 Hz), but not at higher, modulation frequencies. 8. When tested with pure tones, a substantial number of peak-type neurons were found to be excited by contralateral stimulation but inhibited by ipsilateral stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Behaviour ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 81 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 296-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.A. Baldwin ◽  
B.C.J. Moore ◽  
Sally E. Armitage ◽  
J. Toner ◽  
Margaret A. Vince

AbstractThe sound environment of the foetal lamb was recorded using a hydrophone implanted a few weeks before term in a small number of pregnant ewes. It was implanted inside the amniotic sac and sutured loosely to the foetal neck, to move with the foetus. Results differ from those reported earlier for the human foetus: sounds from the maternal cardiovascular system were picked up only rarely, at very low frequencies and at sound pressures around, or below, the human auditory threshold. Other sounds from within the mother occurred intermittently and rose to a high sound pressure only at frequencies above about 300 Hz. Sounds from outside the mother were picked up by the implanted hydrophone when the external sound level rose above 65-70 dB SPL, and the attenuation in sound pressure was rarely more than 30 dB and, especially at low frequencies, usually much less. However, attenuation due to the transmission of sound through the body wall and other tissues tended to change from time to time. It is concluded that the foetal lamb's sound environment consists of (1) intermittent low frequency sounds associated largely with the ewe's feeding and digestive processes and (2) sounds such as vocalisations from the flock, human voices and other sounds from outside the mother.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Caresta ◽  
Nicole J. Kessissoglou

A passive isolation approach to reduce the sound pressure radiated by a submarine is presented. The submerged vessel is modeled as a stiffened cylindrical hull partitioned by bulkheads and with two end caps of conical shape. Fluctuating forces from the propeller are transmitted to the hull through the shaft and a rigid foundation, resulting in axisymmetric excitation of the hull. The hull surface motion is mainly in the axial direction with a small radial component due to the coupling between the two orthogonal shell displacements. The sound pressure resulting from the axial motion is radiated from the end caps of the submarine. This work investigates reduction of the far field sound pressure by passive isolation of the end caps from the main hull. Isolation of the axial motion of the end caps from the cylindrical hull results in significant reduction of the radiated sound at low frequencies. The fluid loading approximation for a finite cylindrical shell in the low frequency range is also discussed.


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