Evaluation of short-term road traffic noise exposure using physiological measurements and auralized sound samples ? a preliminary panel study
Résumé
Road traffic noise remains a major source of noise pollution in urban areas where long-term exposure has been shown to cause a wide range of health-related problems, including serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. The health-related effects of traffic noise exposure are well correlated to the long-term averaged sound pressure levels. Traffic noise also results in noise annoyance. Noise annoyance, in this case, is influenced by several acoustical as well as non-acoustical factors, in addition to long-term averaged levels. Its direct evaluation usually relies either on field questionnaires or on listening tests in controlled environments. Predictive models may then be derived by correlating perceived annoyance with acoustical and psychoacoustical indices. In an attempt to improve the direct evaluation of noise annoyance, this paper presents preliminary work on the correlation of perceived annoyance, acoustical indices and physiological measurements with autonomic nervous system monitoring based on heart rate, skin electrodermal response, respiration rate and skin blood flow. To this purpose, measurements are carried out in a laboratory on several subjects exposed to different simulated road noise soundscapes. The selected soundscapes are based on auralized sound samples which model road traffic noise scenarios comparing different abatement solutions. The auralization approach ensures replicable traffic flow conditions with and without the abatement solution. Results show the correlation between physical and physiological parameters and perceived sound quality.
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte