Effects of level of indoor illumination on the judged annoyance of aircraft noise

Abstract

Annoyance response to 27 recorded aircraft noise stimuli presented at levels ranging from 83.9 to 91.8 dBA (peak value) was measured by magnitude estimation, under three different levels of simulated living room illumination. One level of illumination was ordinary room brightness, and the other levels were either dimmer or brighter. Analyses of variance, performed on the slopes and intercepts of the annoyance function, showed that the illumination conditions were significant. Test/retest and split-half reliabilities indicated the annoyance measures were stable and consistent under the influence of illumination. There was a clear difference in both slope and intercept between dim and ordinary illumination, indicating that the annoyance is less at low noise levels and grows more rapidly with increasing noise level under dim than ordinary illumination. The regression lines of annoyance showed that, relative to ordinary illumination, the annoyance is (1) less under dim (31% annoyance reduction, or 5 dB equivalent attenuation) at an aircraft noise level of about 89 dBA and (2) less under bright (24% annoyance reduction, or 4 dB equivalent attenuation) at about 88 dBA.