Response to sound
Week 2
Detectable
sound
change
varies with
frequency
& volume
Hearing sensitivity vs frequency
• Human perception of sound is dependent on the frequency of the
sound
• For a noise source of the same intensity (SPL), the high frequency
sound is perceived to be louder than the low frequency sound
ISO/R226-1961
Unit of loudness
• Unit of loudness : phon
(at 1 kHz, phon = dB)
• Linearize loudness unit :
sone (1 sone equal to
subjective loudness of 40
phons)
sone = 2(phon−40)/10
Fletcher-Munson curves
Sound weighting curves
Weighting comes from
Fletcher-Munson Curves
• “A” → 40 Phon equal
loudness contour
• “B” → 70 Phon equal
loudness contour
• “C” → 100 Phon equal
loudness contour
Sound weighting curves
• dB(A) used for human risk
purposes
→ De-emphasizes low
and very high
frequencies which pose
less of a risk to hearing
• dB(C) used for hearing
protector selection
• dB(D) used for aircraft
noise
Noisiness & annoyance
• Both noisiness and annoyance are
subjective terms
• Physical aspects of sound:
Spectrum content and level
Spectrum complexity and existence
of pure tones
Time duration
Amplitude and frequency of level
fluctuations
Rise time of impulsive sounds
Pitch
• Subjective response to
frequency
• High frequency corresponds to
high pitch
• For low SPL, pitch is not related
to frequency
• Pitch of pure tones combination
is determine by the fundamental
frequency and difference
between adjacent frequencies
Masking
• One sound interferes with
the perception of another
• Two exited areas overlap in
the basilar membrane (due
to 2 or more sounds)
• Two tones are
distinguishable if there is
sufficient difference in their
frequencies
• Critical bandwidth is a
function of frequency
• Low frequency sound tend
to mask high frequency
sound
Binaural hearing
• Dependent on differences in phase and intensity of sound
• horizontal plane vs vertical plane
> 1.5 kHz, difference in
intensity due to the
scattering of sound around
the head (acoustic shadow).
Intensity difference
increases with frequency
< 1.5 kHz, difference in time
of sound arrival causing
difference sound phase
Non-auditory effect of sound
• Induce stress and tension especially from surprise or startle sound
• Interfere with daily activities like sleep, conversation, music listening,
concentration, etc
• Fear of danger i.e aircraft crash
