Human Factors Engineering Dr.

Osama Al Meanazel
Lecture 10 (Noise)

October 10, 2013

Psychophysical Indices of Loudness

Psychophysical Indices of Loudness

Phons
Measure absolute loudness Measures loudness set equal to decibel level of 1000 Hz pure tone All tones equal in loudness to a 50 dB 1000 Hz tone are judged to have a loudness equal to 50 phons Similarly, 40 dB at 1000 Hz = 40 phons

Psychophysical Indices of Loudness

Sone
Tells us the relative loudness of sound One sone is defined as the loudness of a 1000 Hz tone of 40 dB (40 phons) A sound that is judged to be twice as loud as the reference sound has a loudness of 2 sone, a sound that is judged to be 3 times as loud as the reference sound has a loudness of 3 sone, etc. In turn, a sound that is judged to be half as loud as the reference sound has a loudness of 0.5 sone There is a relationship between phons and sones:
40 phons = 1 sone, and every 10 additional phons doubles the number of sone. For example,
50 phons = 2 sones, 60 phons = 4 sone

In like manner 30 phons = 0.5 sone, and 20 phons = 0.25 sone

Equivalent Sound Level (Annoyance of Noise)

Long-term average sound-level is the measure of the magnitude of environmental noise Designated as equivalent sound level (Leq)

= 10 10 (
=1

10 8

10 )

Where T is the exposure time (hour) and L is sound level (SPL in dB) Unit of measurement is dBA
E.g. If a 100 dBA noise occurred for 1 h, the Leq for that hour would be 100 dBA.
Consider, however, a situation in which it was quiet during the next 4 h. The Leq for the total 5 h period would now be less than 100 dB; in fact it would be 94 dBA. This says that 5 hr of 94 dBA noise is equivalent in acoustic energy to 1 h of 100 dBA noise and 4 h of quiet.

Effect of Noise on Performance

The level of noise required to obtain reliable performance effects is quite high, generally over 95 dBA Performance of simple, routine tasks may show no effect and often will even show an improvement as a result of noise The detrimental effects of noise are usually associated with tasks performed continuously without rest pauses between responses and difficult tasks that place high demands on perceptual and/or information processing capacity
According to Broadbent, most of the detrimental effects of noise is due to overarousal Too little or too much arousal results in lower performance than does a moderate level of arousal

Continuous and Intermittent Noise

OSHA has established permissible noise exposures for persons working on jobs in industry (OSHA, 1983) A key concept in the OSHA requirements is the noise dose Exposure to any sound level at or above 80 dBA causes the listener to incur a partial dose of noise A partial dose is calculated for each specific sound-pressure level above 80 dBA as follows: Partial dose = Time actually spent at sound level Maximum permissible time at sound level (see Table 18-3) The total or daily noise dose is equal to the sum of the partial doses

Continuous and Intermittent Noise

The noise dose can then be converted to an 8 h time-weighted average (TWA) sound level using Table 18-4 A noise dose of 50 percent (TWA = 85 dBA) is designated as the action level, or the point at which the employer must implement a continuing, effective hearing conservative program The program must include:
Exposure monitoring Audiometric testing Hearing protection Employee training Record keeping