Subjective measurements of the relative annoyance of simulated sonic bangs and aircraft noise

Abstract Experiments were conducted on a total of seventy-nine subjects, in which they were asked to estimate the relative annoyance of the sound of a jet aircraft, a piston-engined aircraft, and sonic bangs, each of which was reproduced electronically at various levels. For the sonic bangs, a sound typical of that received inside a building was chosen. The results are generally consistent with those of earlier experiments using different scaling techniques, and in the case of the jet and piston aircraft sound broadly support the method of calculating perceived noise levels. The increment necessary to double annoyance is about 13 PNdB. The rate of increase of annoyance with level is greater in the case of the sonic bangs, about 10 dB for doubling. By relating the reproduced noise levels to their original values it is concluded, with some reservations due to experimental limitations, that the upper limit of acceptable sonic bangs (as heard in domestic interiors) is about 1·9 lb/ft2 initial pressure jump measured on the ground in the open. This figure is based on the value of 110 PNdB for conventional aircraft sounds.