STAIANO ENGINEERING, INC.

Age-WEIGHTEDSOUND LEVELS

Michael A. Staiano

10 July 2006

STAIANO ENGINEERING, INC.

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ANNOYANCE RESPONSE

• Public opinion polling of community annoyance

• Ambient noise survey of canvassed area

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ANNOYANCE RESPONSE CURVE

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WEIGHTING CURVES

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EQUAL-LOUDNESS CONTOURS

Pure-tone response of 18-25-yr-old

men and women

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POPULATION PYRAMID

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2006 U.S. POPULATION

MEAN AGE:

• Men and Women / All ages – 37 yr

• Men and Women / ≥ 20 yr – 47 yr

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HEARING LOSS

• PRESBYCUSIS—aging

• NOISE-INDUCED▫ occupational▫ sociacusis (every-day life)

• NOSOACUSIS—disease, trauma, ototoxic drugs

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EXPECTED HEARING LOSS

60-yr olds in industrial society but not exposed to workplace noise (OSHA 1983)

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HEARING LOSS AGE-CORRECTION CURVES

Hearing threshold re 20-yr-old males

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AGE WEIGHTINGS

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SIMPLE SPECTRA

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OVERALL SOUND LEVELS of SIMPLE SPECTRA—1

DESCRIPTOR OVERALL 16-10k Hz SOUND LEVEL (dB)

for Spectrum Slope (dB/octave)

-6 -3 0 3

Lp 80 72 63 60

LC 77 70 62 59

LA 60 60 60 60

LAge40 60 59 57 55

LAge50 60 59 57 53

LAge60 60 59 56 52

LAge70 62 60 56 51

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OVERALL SOUND LEVELS of SIMPLE SPECTRA—2

DESCRIPTOR OVERALL 16-10k Hz SOUND LEVEL (dB re LA )

for Spectrum Slope (dB/octave)

-6 -3 0 3

Lp 20 12 3 0

LC 17 10 2 -1

LAge40 0 -1 -3 -5

LAge50 0 -1 -3 -7

LAge60 0 -1 -4 -8

LAge70 2 0 -4 -9

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REAL SPECTRA

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OVERALL SOUND LEVELS of REAL SPECTRA—1

DES. OVERALL 25-10k Hz SOUND LEVEL (dB)

IdlingLoco

Light-Rail

Vehicle

WheelSqueal

UrbanTraffic

High-way

Traffic

MilitaryAircraft

RooftopChiller

Sm.Cooling Tower

Lp 84 86 99 84 83 108 62 82

LC 83 86 99 83 82 108 61 82

LA 69 82 95 71 76 104 55 72

LAge40 68 81 93 70 76 103 54 72

LAge50 68 81 93 70 76 103 54 72

LAge60 69 81 93 70 76 103 54 73

LAge70 70 81 93 71 76 104 54 74

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OVERALL SOUND LEVELS of REAL SPECTRA—2

DES. OVERALL 25-10k Hz SOUND LEVEL (dB re LA)

IdlingLoco

Light-Rail

Vehicle

WheelSqueal

UrbanTraffic

High-way

Traffic

MilitaryAircraft

RooftopChiller

Sm.Cooling Tower

Lp 15 4 4 13 7 4 8 10

LC 14 3 4 12 6 4 7 9

LAge40 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0

LAge50 0 -1 -2 -1 0 0 -1 0

LAge60 0 -1 -2 -1 0 0 -1 0

LAge70 2 -1 -2 0 0 1 -1 2

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NATURAL SOUNDS

• Natural Sources:▫ Birds ≥ 2 kHz▫ Insects – cicadas ~1 kHz

– crickets ~6 kHz

• Ageing filters natural sounds relative to intruding noise?

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CONCLUSION

• A-weighting ageing error range: ~ 1 dB @ 40 yr~ 2 dB @ 50 yr~ 3 dB @ 60 yr~ 4 dB @ 70 yr

• Ageing relatively minor explanation for annoyance response variation