Use of the ’’acoustic menu’’ in assessing human response to audible (corona) noise from electric transmission lines

Abstract

A behavioral preference procedure, the ’’acoustic menu,’’ was used to assess human aversion to the sounds from two samples of transmission line audible noise and from samples of other environmental noises. The audible (corona) noise produced by extra-high voltage (EHV), overhead transmission lines was tape-recorded during moist weather. Reproduced samples of corona noise, other common environmental noises, and artificial reference stimuli were compared in two experiments. The two corona noise samples were found to be equally preferred to: (1) a 1000 Hz octave band of noise about 11 dB SPL higher than the corona noises and (2) a collection of other environmental noises about 8 dB SPL higher than the corona noises. The corona noise samples were more aversive than the ambient sounds (including rainfall) occurring near rural transmission lines and were roughly equivalent in aversiveness to the noise from a room air conditioner (indoor recording). Knowledge of the source of the corona noise (from photographs and a brief description) did not affect its aversiveness. Of the simple frequency-weighting scales, the A-weighted sound level reduced the difference between the two corona noise samples and the set of other environmental sounds from about 8 dB SPL to about 3 dB. The D-weighted sound level further reduced this discrepancy to about 2 dB. These results were obtained with only two samples of corona noise; other samples may give different results.