Effect of number and peak level of clicks on annoyance

Abstract

Impulse noises (clicks) occurring within speech presented via telephone handsets were evaluated with respect to annoyance. A single type of transient was evaluated; it was of 18-msec duration, and its peak level was varied from 95 to 125 dB SPL. Between one and four of these clicks were presented on a given trial. For trials with multiple clicks, all the clicks were presented within 250 msec of each other. After each trial, subjects evaluated the clicks for degree of annoyance by rating them on a seven-point annoyance scale. To maintain the subjects' attention, they also performed a subsidiary task with respect to the content of the speech sample. The results indicated that annoyance increased as a function of the number of clicks. There was a nonlinear increase in annoyance with peak level.