Relationship between low-frequency aircraft noise and annoyance due to rattle and vibration

Abstract

A near-replication of a study of the annoyance of rattle and vibration attributable to aircraft noise [Fidell et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 106, 1408-1415 (1999)] was conducted in the vicinity of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). The findings of the current study were similar to those reported earlier with respect to the types of objects cited as sources of rattle in homes, frequencies of notice of rattle, and the prevalence of annoyance due to aircraft noise-induced rattle. A reliably lower prevalence rate of annoyance (but not of complaints) with rattle and vibration was noted among respondents living in homes that had been treated to achieve a 5-dB improvement in A-weighted noise reduction than among respondents living in untreated homes. This difference is not due to any substantive increase in low-frequency noise reduction of acoustically treated homes, but may be associated with installation of nonrattling windows. Common interpretations of the prevalence of a consequential degree of annoyance attributable to low-frequency aircraft noise may be developed from the combined results of the present and prior studies.

Differences in subjective loudness and annoyance depending on the road traffic noise spectrum

“…Fidell et al, 16,17 Leventhal, 18 and Huang et al 19 all found that the low frequency noise was relatively more important in explaining noise annoyance than in this study. Considering Nakamura and Tokita's low frequency noise threshold curves 20 it appears that the low frequency content in our study was less dominant (subjectively) than the mid and high frequency content, even for the LF boosted conditions.…”

Human response to vibration in residential environments

“…A study by Schomer and Neathammer (1987) suggested that the presence of rattle induced by military helicopters caused an offset of 12 dB in the annoyance response to noise by a factor when there was "little vibration or rattles" and 20 dB when there were "high levels of vibration and rattles." Two related field studies (Fidell et al, 1999(Fidell et al, , 2002 investigated the relationship between low-frequency aircraft noise and annoyance due to rattle and vibration. Although no concrete conclusions were drawn from this study, it was suggested that the relationship between annoyance due to vibration induced rattle and low frequency noise exposure could complement the interpretation of the exposure-response relationships for aircraft noise in situations with low flying aircraft or ground noise from aircraft with high levels of annoyance explained in part by vibration induced rattling of elements such as window frames and household objects such as crockery.…”

Vibratory Sensation Induced by Low-Frequency Noise: A Pilot Study on the Threshold Level

“…Machines prevalently used in living environments do not frequently generate low-frequency noises at sound pressure levels higher than 70 dB(SPL) [1,6,7]. However, noises generated by large transportation machines such as aircraft, ships, and large trucks often contain low-frequency components at sufficiently high sound pressure levels to induce vibratory sensations [1,8,9]. Additionally, in working environments, many machines can be a source of high-level low-frequency noise that can induce vibratory sensation [1,10,11].…”