Synonyms
Definition
Human response to noise is subjective and can vary greatly from person to person. Factors that can influence individual response include the loudness, frequency, and time pattern, the amount of background noise present before an intruding noise, and the nature of the activity (e.g., sleeping) that the noise affects.
The sensitivity of the human ear to sounds of different frequencies is measured by the A-weighted decibel scale (dBA). A 10-dBA change in noise levels is judged by most people as a doubling of sound level. The smallest change in noise level that a human ear can perceive is about 3 dBA. Increases of 5 dBA or more are clearly noticeable. Normal conversation ranges between 44 and 65 dBA when the people speaking are 3–6 ft apart.
Table 1shows sound levels for some common noise sources and compares their relative loudness to that of an 80-dBA source such as a garbage disposal or food...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Minor, M.A., Sanchez, T.W. (2014). Traffic Noise Abatement. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3043
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3043
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0752-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0753-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law