The importance of loudness functions in assessing noise annoyance Free

Outdoors, Schomer et al. have shown that loudness weighting according to ISO 226 can be used to great advantage as a direct substitute for A‐weighting. That is, loudness‐weighted sound exposure level (LLSEL) can be used as a direct substitute for A‐weighted sound exposure level (ASEL). LLSEL, computed with a time constant commensurate with the time constant of the human hearing process, provides significantly better correlation with community response across different noise sources than does ASEL. Indoors, room noise criteria (RNC) curves have been developed using these same human hearing function considerations. The RNC curves and associated computational procedure successfully bridge the gap between the PNC curves of Beranek and the RC curves of Blazier. Taken together, this body of outdoor and indoor research results shows the great importance of the human hearing function in assessing noise annoyance.