Abstract
Four groups of 24 subjects were exposed to 100 and 1000 Hz tones or
broadband noise in a sound chamber. During exposure the subjects
were engaged in an easy reaction time test or a difficult test of
logical thinking. For each exposure and work the subjects adjusted
the noise to two annoyance levels, defined by their interference
with task performance. During the simple reaction time task significantly
higher sound pressure levels were accepted (c. 6 dB) than during
the reasoning test. At 1000 Hz, much lower levels (c. 22 dB) were
accepted of the tone than of the broadband noise. At 100 Hz a non-significant
trend in the opposite direction was obtained. The results imply that
the A-weighting procedure leads to an overestimation of low frequency
tones and an underestimation of the low frequency band noise with
respect to tolerance levels during work.
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