Masking Noise Research Articles

Methodological Choices Matter: A Systematic Comparison of TMS-EEG Studies Targeting the Primary Motor Cortex.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) triggers time-locked cortical activity that can be recorded with electroencephalography (EEG). Transcranial evoked potentials (TEPs) are widely used to probe brain responses to TMS. Here, we systematically reviewed 137 published experiments that studied TEPs elicited from TMS to the human primary motor cortex (M1) in healthy individuals to investigate the impact of methodological choices. We scrutinized prevalent methodological choices and assessed how consistently they were reported in published papers. We extracted amplitudes and latencies from reported TEPs and compared specific TEP peaks and components between studies using distinct methods. Reporting of methodological details was overall sufficient, but some relevant information regarding the TMS settings and the recording and preprocessing of EEG data were missing in more than 25% of the included experiments. The published TEP latencies and amplitudes confirm the "prototypical" TEP waveform following stimulation of M1, comprising distinct N15, P30, N45, P60, N100, and P180 peaks. However, variations in amplitude were evident across studies. Higher stimulation intensities were associated with overall larger TEP amplitudes. Active noise masking during TMS generally resulted in lower TEP amplitudes compared to no or passive masking but did not specifically impact those TEP peaks linked to long-latency sensory processing. Studies implementing independent component analysis (ICA) for artifact removal generally reported lower TEP magnitudes. In summary, some aspects of reporting practices could be improved in future TEP studies to enable replication. Methodological choices, including TMS intensity and the use of noise masking or ICA, introduce systematic differences in reported TEP amplitudes. Further investigation into the significance of these and other methodological factors and their interactions is warranted.

The right fountain for the right place? An in-situ co-creative soundscaping methodology

Road traffic noise-polluted parks pervade the urban landscape, hindering the enjoyment of the relaxing potential and cognitive benefits that urban parks offer. Soundscape augmentation with natural sounds has demonstrated its merits in this context before, and deliberately introducing fountains can be an attractive solution since such installations can be easily controlled. This work describes a co-creative in-situ experiment where locals help select the most suited fountain at a predefined design spot during the planning phase, with a clear focus on sound. The simplified auralization approach, with loudspeakers positioned at the pond's bank, allowed participants to evaluate various fountain scenarios in an ecologically valid context. To arrive at the optimal choice, sound pleasantness and the road traffic noise masking potential of the (combination of) fountain(s) should be balanced.

The ocean wave noise masking effect on wind turbine noise audibility

In Denmark and several other countries noise is regulated as absolute levels, hence the audibility of the noise source is not directly handled. In most countries, including Denmark, wind turbines are often set up in rural areas. Denmark is a flat, windy and in general densely populated country, but the rural areas are less populated and has longer distances between dwellings, and so it is easier to comply with the setback distances and noise demands. Coincidently some of the windiest parts of Denmark are also rural areas. In the rural areas some of the common sources of noise is vegetation or waves, which masks other environmental noise sources. The effect of masking from vegetation and/or waves has not been studied in much detail in Denmark. The aim of this article is to gather meteorological, wave and sound data from waves at the Danish west coast and compare this data to estimated offshore wind turbine noise.

Spectral weighting functions for localization of complex sound. III. The effect of sensorineural hearing lossa).

Spectral weighting functions for sound localization were measured in participants with bilateral mild sloping to moderately severe, high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and compared to normal hearing (NH) participants with and without simulated SNHL. Each participant group localized three types of complex tones, comprised of seven frequency components spatially jittered and presented from the horizontal frontal field. A threshold-elevating noise masker was implemented in the free field to simulate SNHL for participants with NH. On average, participants with SNHL and NH (in quiet and simulated SNHL) placed the greatest perceptual weight on components within the interaural time difference "dominance region," found previously to peak around 800 Hz [Folkerts and Stecker, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 151, 3409-3425 (2022)]. In addition to the peak at 800 Hz, both participant groups (including NH participants in quiet) placed near equal weight on 400 Hz, resulting in a broadened "peak" in the dominance region, most likely due to the reduction of audibility to higher frequency components. However, individual weighting strategies were more variable across participants with SNHL than participants with NH. Localization performance was reduced for participants with SNHL but not for NH participants with simulated hearing loss when compared to NH participants in quiet.

Spatialization and Analysis of China’s GDP Based on NPP/VIIRS Data from 2013 to 2023

The quality of nighttime light (NTL) data is an important factor affecting the estimation of gross domestic product (GDP), but most studies do not use the latest NPP/VIIRS V2 annual composite product, and there is a lack of China’s GDP estimation products in recent years. To address this problem, this paper studies the NPP/VIIRS remote sensing estimation method for the GDP in mainland China from 2013 to 2023. First, the remote sensing data are preprocessed, and the noise masking method is used to remove outliers. The total amount of NTL, average NTL value, and comprehensive NTL index data are extracted. Combined with the GDP data from the Statistical Yearbook, a fitting model of the GDP and NTL index is constructed. The differences between different GDP estimation models are compared and analyzed, and the optimal model is selected as the estimation model. In addition, through the optimal fitting model, GDP spatial estimation products from 2013 to 2023 are produced. Moreover, the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the GDP in mainland China are analyzed, with a focus on the spatiotemporal variation of GDP decline regions and the changes in the GDP rankings of provinces and cities. The main conclusions include the following: (1) In the time regression analysis, the linear model MNL has a strong correlation with the GDP, with an R2 of 0.972. This model is selected as the optimal fitting model to calculate the spatial data of the GDP. (2) The spatial distribution of the GDP in mainland China is high in the east and low in the west, and it shows a characteristic of extending from the provincial capital to the surrounding cities. The connectivity between adjacent high-GDP areas continues to increase. (3) From 2013 to 2023, the GDP in most parts of China showed an upward trend, with 98.56% of pixels growing and only 0.99% of pixels declining. The declining pixels are mainly distributed in heavy industrial cities supported by fossil fuel resources, such as Ordos, Daqing, Aksu, etc. (4) Compared with statistical data, the overall difference of the GDP estimated by NTL data is not large, and the relative error is between 0.04% and 1.95%. From the perspective of the GDP ranking of each province, the ranking of most provinces is not much different, fluctuating between ±2. A small number of provinces have large ranking differences due to reasons such as dominant industries and power supply. By spatializing the GDP data of mainland China in the past 11 years, the spatiotemporal changes of the GDP within mainland China were analyzed. The research results can provide support for government economic decisions such as urban development.

Experimental Determination of Influences of Static Eccentricities on the Structural Dynamic Behavior of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine

In electrified vehicles, the masking noise behavior of internal combustion engines is absent, making the tonal excitation of the electric machine particularly noticeable in vehicle acoustics, which is perceived as disturbing by consumers. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the tonal NVH characteristics of the electric machine are significantly influenced at wide frequency ranges. This paper presents a systematic exploration of the influence of static eccentricity as one manufacturing tolerance on the NVH behavior of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs). The study utilizes a novel test bench setup enabling isolated variations in static eccentricity of up to 0.2 mm in one PMSM. Comparative analysis of acceleration signals reveals significant variations in the dominance of excitation orders with different eccentricity states, impacting critical operating points and dominant frequency rages of the electric machine. Despite experimentation, no linear correlation is observed between increased eccentricity and changes in acceleration behavior. Manufacturing eccentricity and deviations in rotor magnetization are discussed as potential contributors to the observed effects. The findings emphasize static eccentricity as a critical parameter in NVH optimization, particularly in electrified powertrains. However, the results indicate that further investigations are needed to explore the influence of eccentricities and magnetization deviations on NVH behavior comprehensively.

Enhanced Place Specificity of the Parallel Auditory Brainstem Response: An Electrophysiological Study.

This study investigates the effect of parallel stimulus presentation on the place specificity of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) in human listeners. Frequency-specific stimuli do not guarantee a response from the place on the cochlea corresponding only to that characteristic frequency - especially for brief and high-level stimuli. Adding masking noise yields responses that are more place specific, and our prior modeling study has suggested similar effects when multiple frequency-specific stimuli are presented in parallel. We tested this hypothesis experimentally here, comparing the place specificity of responses to serial and parallel stimuli at two stimulus frequencies and three stimulus rates. Parallel ABR (pABR) stimuli were presented alongside high-pass filtered noise with a varied cutoff frequency. Serial presentation was also tested by isolating and presenting single-frequency stimulus trains from the pABR ensemble. Latencies of the ABRs were examined to assess place specificity of responses. Response bands were derived by subtracting responses from different high-pass noise conditions. The response amplitude from each derived response band was then used to determine how much individual frequency regions of the auditory system were contributing to the overall response. We found that parallel presentation improves place specificity of ABRs for the lower stimulus frequency and at higher stimulus rates. At a higher stimulus frequency, serial and parallel presentations were equally place specific. Parallel presentation can provide more place-specific responses than serial for lower stimulus frequencies. The improvement increases with higher stimulus rates and is in addition to the pABR's primary benefit of faster test times.

Remote self-report and speech-in-noise measures predict clinical audiometric thresholds

Objective Developments in smartphone technology and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the feasibility and need for remote, but reliable hearing tests. Previous studies used remote testing but did not directly compare results in the same listeners with standard lab or clinic testing. This study investigated validity and reliability of remote, self-administered digits-in-noise (remote-DIN) compared with lab-based, supervised (lab-DIN) testing. Predictive validity was further examined in relation to a commonly used self-report, Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ-12), and lab-based, pure tone audiometry. Design DIN speech reception thresholds (SRTs) of adults (18-64 y/o) with normal hearing (NH, N = 16) and hearing loss (HL, N = 18), were measured using English-language digits (0-9), binaurally presented as triplets in one of four speech-shaped noise maskers (broadband, low-pass filtered at 2, 4, 8 kHz) and two phases (diotic, antiphasic). Results High, significant intraclass correlation coefficients indicated strong internal consistency of remote-DIN SRTs, which also correlated significantly with lab-DIN SRTs. There was no significant mean difference between remote- and lab-DIN on any tests. NH listeners had significantly higher SSQ scores and remote- and lab-DIN SRTs than listeners with HL. All versions of remote-DIN SRTs correlated significantly with pure-tone-average (PTA), with the 2-kHz filtered test being the best predictor, explaining 50% of the variance in PTA. SSQ total score also significantly and independently predicted PTA (17% of variance) and all test versions of the remote-DIN, except the antiphasic BB test. Conclusions This study underscores the effectiveness of remote DIN test and SSQ-12 in assessing auditory function. These findings suggest the potential for wider access to reliable hearing assessment, particularly in remote or underserved communities.

Effects of Age on Responses of Principal Cells of the Mouse Anteroventral Cochlear Nucleus in Quiet and Noise.

Older listeners often report difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments. It is important to identify where in the auditory pathway hearing-in-noise deficits arise to develop appropriate therapies. We tested how encoding of sounds is affected by masking noise at early stages of the auditory pathway by recording responses of principal cells in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) of aging CBA/CaJ and C57BL/6J mice in vivo. Previous work indicated that masking noise shifts the dynamic range of single auditory nerve fibers (ANFs), leading to elevated tone thresholds. We hypothesized that such threshold shifts could contribute to increased hearing-in-noise deficits with age if susceptibility to masking increased in AVCN units. We tested this by recording the responses of AVCN principal neurons to tones in the presence and absence of masking noise. Surprisingly, we found that masker-induced threshold shifts decreased with age in primary-like units and did not change in choppers. In addition, spontaneous activity decreased in primary-like and chopper units of old mice, with no change in dynamic range or tuning precision. In C57 mice, which undergo early-onset hearing loss, units showed similar changes in threshold and spontaneous rate at younger ages, suggesting they were related to hearing loss and not simply aging. These findings suggest that sound information carried by AVCN principal cells remains largely unchanged with age. Therefore, hearing-in-noise deficits may result from other changes during aging, such as distorted across-channel input from the cochlea and changes in sound coding at later stages of the auditory pathway.

Unpaired Remote Sensing Image Dehazing Using Enhanced Skip Attention-Based Generative Adversarial Networks with Rotation Invariance

Remote sensing image dehazing aims to enhance the visibility of hazy images and improve the quality of remote sensing imagery, which is essential for various applications such as object detection and classification. However, the lack of paired data in remote sensing image dehazing enhances the applications of unpaired image-to-image translation methods. Nonetheless, the considerable parameter size of such methods often leads to prolonged training times and substantial resource consumption. In this work, we propose SPRGAN, a novel approach leveraging Enhanced Perlin Noise-Based Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with Rotation Invariance to address these challenges. Firstly, we introduce a Spatial-Spectrum Attention (SSA) mechanism with Skip-Attention (SKIPAT) to enhance the model’s ability to interpret and process spectral information in hazy images. Additionally, we have significantly reduced computational overhead to streamline processing. Secondly, our approach combines Perlin Noise Masks in pre-training to simulate real foggy conditions, thereby accelerating convergence and enhancing performance. Then, we introduce a Rotation Loss (RT Loss) to ensure the model’s ability to dehaze images from different angles uniformly, thus enhancing its robustness and adaptability to diverse scenarios. At last, experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of SPRGAN in remote sensing image dehazing, achieving better performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Electromechanical Modeling and Analysis of Motor Whine in Electric Propulsion Systems

Electric motor whine is a major source of tonal noise and vibration for electric propulsion systems. The lack of engine masking noise in electric vehicles (EVs) further pronounces the pure tones, which are annoying to the occupants. The associated vibration can cause durability issues due to resonance and lead to failure of the sub-assembly or the supporting structure. A source-level NVH assessment of electric propulsion systems in modern EVs aims to achieve first-time quality designs at the advanced design stage. Accurate modeling of the motor stator and the electromagnetic (EM) forces at the air gap between the stator and rotor are critical to the NVH assessment. This work investigates the interaction between EM force application and the stator design in all four quadrants in which the electric motor operates, including both driving and regenerative braking in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. A finite element (FE) model of the stator is developed, and the EM forces are mapped on the stator teeth, including different clocking and application directions. The stator model is integrated in the electric drive unit (DU) model, which enables the evaluation of the NVH performance of the propulsion system due to the reversal the EM force directions. The predicted analysis results are compared with the measured mount vibration

An annoyance model for urban air mobility vehicle noise in the presence of a masker

Proposed Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations offer an alternative to road and rail traffic for local and regional movement of people and goods. To allow for large-scale adoption of UAM vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, it is critical to predict human annoyance response to the noise generated by these vehicles. This paper proposes a model that predicts an individual's perceived level of annoyance when presented with UAM VTOL aircraft noise in addition to a masking noise. The model predicts changes in annoyance based on subjective evaluation of detection, noticeability, and annoyance of noise in the presence of a masker. The application of this annoyance model will influence future work for a psychoacoustic annoyance model that incorporates UAM sound quality.

Effect of stimulus duration on estimates of human cochlear tuning

Auditory masking methods originally employed to assess behavioral frequency selectivity have evolved over the years to infer cochlear tuning. Behavioral forward masking thresholds for spectrally notched noise maskers and a fixed, low-level probe tone provide accurate estimates of cochlear tuning. Here, we use this method to investigate the effect of stimulus duration on human cochlear tuning at 500 Hz and 4 kHz. Probes were 20-ms sinusoids at 10 dB sensation level. Maskers were noises with a spectral notch symmetrically and asymmetrically placed around the probe frequency. For seven participants with normal hearing, masker levels at masking threshold were measured in forward masking for various notch widths and for masker durations of 30 and 400 ms. Measurements were fitted assuming rounded exponential filter shapes and the power spectrum model of masking, and equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs) were inferred from the fits. At 4 kHz, masker thresholds were higher for the shorter maskers but ERBs were not significantly different for the two masker durations (ERB30ms=294 Hz vs. ERB400ms=277 Hz). At 500 Hz, by contrast, notched-noise curves were shallower for the 30-ms than the 400-ms masker, and ERBs were significantly broader for the shorter masker (ERB30ms=126 Hz vs. ERB400ms=55 Hz). We discuss possible factors that may underlay the duration effect at low frequencies and argue that it may not be possible to fully control for those factors. We conclude that tuning estimates are not affected by maker duration at high frequencies but should be measured and interpreted with caution at low frequencies.

Horizontal Sound Localization and Spatial Short-Term Memory Span in Hearing-Impaired Listeners and Listeners With Simulated Hearing Loss.

Localization of a sound source in the horizontal plane depends on the listener's interaural comparison of arrival time and level. Hearing loss (HL) can reduce access to these binaural cues, possibly disrupting the localization and memory of spatial information. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the horizontal sound localization performance and the spatial short-term memory in listeners with actual and simulated HL. Seventeen listeners with bilateral symmetric HL and 17 listeners with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. The hearing thresholds of NH listeners were elevated by a spectrally shaped masking noise for the simulations of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and bilateral hearing loss (BHL). The localization accuracy and errors as well as the spatial short-term memory span were measured in the free field using a set of 11 loudspeakers arrayed over a 150° arc. The localization abilities and spatial short-term memory span did not significantly differ between actual BHL listeners and BHL-simulated NH listeners. Overall, the localization performance with the UHL simulation was approximately twofold worse than that with the BHL simulation, and the hearing asymmetry led to a detrimental effect on spatial memory. The mean localization score as a function of stimulus location in the UHL simulation was less than 30% even for the front (0° azimuth) stimuli and much worse on the side closer to the simulated ear. In the UHL simulation, the localization responses were biased toward the side of the intact ear even when sounds were coming from the front. Hearing asymmetry induced by the UHL simulation substantially disrupted the localization performance and recall abilities of spatial positions encoded and stored in the memory, due to fewer chances to learn strategies to improve localization. The marked effect of hearing asymmetry on sound localization highlights the need for clinical assessments of spatial hearing in addition to conventional hearing tests.

Method for Assessing Noise Quality Based on Entropy Quality Factor

The work analyzes the existing approaches to solving the problem of a comprehensive study of the qualitative characteristics of side electromagnetic emission generators. In addition, methods and means of information leakage through the channels of side electromagnetic emission are considered, which make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of noise generators. Electromagnetic emission can propagate in almost all environments. Side electromagnetic emission is one of the effective ways to protect computer equipment from information leakage through the channel of side electromagnetic emissions and interference. The masking noise is generated by the noise generator, and the quality factor of the masking noise is the quality factor of the entropy noise. In addition, measurements of masking noise interference using a spectrum analyzer and an oscilloscope are carried out and a method for estimating the entropy noise quality coefficient (ENQC) is proposed. The calculated value of the entropy noise quality factor is compared with the normalized value set for this type of noise generator. The novelty of the work is the development of a new method for assessing the quality of masking noise interference, based on the calculation of the entropy quality coefficient, as well as the development of software for automating the calculation. The study of the quality characteristics of the noise generator (NG) taking into account the design of a mock-up sample of the device, which is a complex work. In turn, based on the results obtained, it is possible to develop specialized automated tools for assessing the quality of masking noise interference.

Intelligibility of Natively and Nonnatively Produced English Speech Presented in Noise to a Large Cohort of United States Service Members.

A corpus of English matrix sentences produced by 60 native and nonnative speakers of English was developed as part of a multinational coalition task group. This corpus was tested on a large cohort of U.S. Service members in order to examine the effects of talker nativeness, listener nativeness, masker type, and hearing sensitivity on speech recognition performance in this population. A total of 1,939 U.S. Service members (ages 18-68 years) completed this closed-set listening task, including 430 women and 110 nonnative English speakers. Stimuli were produced by native and nonnative speakers of English and were presented in speech-shaped noise and multitalker babble. Keyword recognition accuracy and response times were analyzed. General(ized) linear mixed-effects regression models found that, on the whole, speech recognition performance was lower for listeners who identified as nonnative speakers of English and when listening to speech produced by nonnative speakers of English. Talker and listener effects were more pronounced when listening in a babble masker than in a speech-shaped noise masker. Response times varied as a function of recognition score, with longest response times found for intermediate levels of performance. This study found additive effects of talker and listener nonnativeness when listening to speech in background noise. These effects were present in both accuracy and response time measures. No multiplicative effects of talker and listener language background were found. There was little evidence of a negative interaction between talker nonnativeness and hearing impairment, suggesting that these factors may have redundant effects on speech recognition. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26060191.

Auditory Challenges and Listening Effort in School-Age Children With Autism: Insights From Pupillary Dynamics During Speech-in-Noise Perception.

This study aimed to investigate challenges in speech-in-noise (SiN) processing faced by school-age children with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) and their impact on listening effort. Participants, including 23 Mandarin-speaking children with ASCs and 19 age-matched neurotypical (NT) peers, underwent sentence recognition tests in both quiet and noisy conditions, with a speech-shaped steady-state noise masker presented at 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio in the noisy condition. Recognition accuracy rates and task-evoked pupil responses were compared to assess behavioral performance and listening effort during auditory tasks. No main effect of group was found on accuracy rates. Instead, significant effects emerged for autistic trait scores, listening conditions, and their interaction, indicating that higher trait scores were associated with poorer performance in noise. Pupillometric data revealed significantly larger and earlier peak dilations, along with more varied pupillary dynamics in the ASC group relative to the NT group, especially under noisy conditions. Importantly, the ASC group's peak dilation in quiet mirrored that of the NT group in noise. However, the ASC group consistently exhibited reduced mean dilations than the NT group. Pupillary responses suggest a different resource allocation pattern in ASCs: An initial sharper and larger dilation may signal an intense, narrowed resource allocation, likely linked to heightened arousal, engagement, and cognitive load, whereas a subsequent faster tail-off may indicate a greater decrease in resource availability and engagement, or a quicker release of arousal and cognitive load. The presence of noise further accentuates this pattern. This highlights the unique SiN processing challenges children with ASCs may face, underscoring the importance of a nuanced, individual-centric approach for interventions and support.

An Image Quality Evaluation and Masking Algorithm Based On Pretrained Deep Neural Networks

With the growing amount of astronomical data, there is an increasing need for automated data processing pipelines, which can extract scientific information from observation data without human interventions. A critical aspect of these pipelines is the image quality evaluation and masking algorithm, which evaluate image qualities based on various factors such as cloud coverage, sky brightness, scattering light from the optical system, point-spread-function size and shape, and read-out noise. Occasionally, the algorithm requires masking of areas severely affected by noise. However, the algorithm often necessitates significant human interventions, reducing data processing efficiency. In this study, we present a deep-learning-based image quality evaluation algorithm that uses an autoencoder to learn features of high quality astronomical images. The trained autoencoder enables automatic evaluation of image quality and masking of noise affected areas. We have evaluated the performance of our algorithm using two test cases: images with point spread functions of varying full width half magnitude, and images with complex backgrounds. In the first scenario, our algorithm could effectively identify variations of the point spread functions, which can provide valuable reference information for photometry. In the second scenario, our method could successfully mask regions affected by complex regions, which could significantly increase the photometry accuracy. Our algorithm can be employed to automatically evaluate image quality obtained by different sky surveying projects, further increasing the speed and robustness of data processing pipelines.

Noisy speech impairs retention of previously heard information only at short time scales.

When speech is presented in noise, listeners must recruit cognitive resources to resolve the mismatch between the noisy input and representations in memory. A consequence of this effortful listening is impaired memory for content presented earlier. In the first study on effortful listening, Rabbitt, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20, 241-248 (1968; Experiment 2) found that recall for a list of digits was poorer when subsequent digits were presented with masking noise than without. Experiment 3 of that study extended this effect to more naturalistic, passage-length materials. Although the findings of Rabbitt's Experiment 2 have been replicated multiple times, no work has assessed the robustness of Experiment 3. We conducted a replication attempt of Rabbitt's Experiment 3 at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Results at one of the SNRs (Experiment 1a of the current study) were in the opposite direction from what Rabbitt, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20, 241-248, (1968) reported - that is, speech was recalled more accurately when it was followed by speech presented in noise rather than in the clear - and results at the other two SNRs showed no effect of noise (Experiments 1b and 1c). In addition, reanalysis of a replication of Rabbitt's seminal finding in his second experiment showed that the effect of effortful listening on previously presented information is transient. Thus, effortful listening caused by noise appears to only impair memory for information presented immediately before the noise, which may account for our finding that noise in the second-half of a long passage did not impair recall of information presented in the first half of the passage.

In-situ co-creative soundscape augmentation with fountains: Balancing sound preference and road traffic noise masking in urban parks

In this work, a co-creative in-situ methodology is presented augmenting the sonic environment of a highway noise dominated urban park through the incorporation of fountains. Pre-recorded water feature sounds were played with a flexible loudspeaker setup positioned at the pond’s bank. This simplified approach to fountain auralization enabled the integration of water feature sound scenarios with the actual traffic noise background during a representative moment in the park, at a design spot. In a first phase, the (pure) water sounds were evaluated by a consciously listening panel (N = 33, mainly consisting of nearby dwellers) at a high signal-to-noise ratio relative to the park’s background noise. The most preferred water feature sounds were identified and were further analyzed for their perceived affective quality using soundscape dimensional analysis. The second part of the listening experiment concentrated on the most favored fountain sounds in conjunction with the necessary aerators. This involved exploring various positioning scenarios in the pond by tuning the loudspeakers to predicted exposure levels. The most pleasant augmented soundscape for the park was shown to be a delicate balance between preference for specific fountain sounds and the reduction of road traffic audibility.