Noise Control, 2nd Edition

2

Loudness, Descriptors of Noise, Noise Criteria and Instrumentation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

In this chapter, the reader is introduced to:

• loudness of various noises;

• various descriptors used to quantify occupational and environmental noise;

• hearing loss associated with age and exposure to noise;

• hearing damage risk criteria, requirements for speech recognition;

• hearing damage risk criteria and trading rules;

• speech interference criteria for broadband noise and intense tones;

• psychological effects of noise as a cause of stress and effects on work;

• Noise Rating (NR), Noise Criteria (NC) and Balanced Noise Criteria (NCB) curves for ambient level specification;

• environmental noise criteria; and

• measurement instrumentation.

2.1 Introduction