Abstract:
Research into environmental noise effects and noise judgments has repeatedly shown that, in addition to judging single noise units, several other evaluation patterns seem to play a role. However, it is yet unclear which noise components of a given synergetic background noise will be of primary importance to an individual. In an interdisciplinary socio- and psychoacoustic field and laboratory study on noise effects on residential areas, different combinations of synergetic environmental traffic noise were evaluated. It is intended to develop an appropriate listener- and annoyance-oriented instrument for characterizing acoustic immissions as to the particular annoyance and interference potentials, ascribed to them by the inhabitants. The fundamental methodical principle of the present research design hinges on repeated reconstruction of the interrelations holding among the various different quantitative and qualitative data sets. These data sets relate to the research subject noise annoyance on three distinct levels: to the different social and environmental realities and subjective lifestyles of persons living in different residential quarters; to externally recorded and standardized noise immissions, and to judgments and characterizations of noise events, including a detailed analysis of psychoacoustic parameters and noise immissions.