The role of helicopter noise‐induced vibration and rattle in human response

Our understanding of community reaction to helicopter noise is incomplete and inadequate. While A‐weighting appears to work outdoors and at modest noise levels, and the community response in terms of percentage of population highly annoyed can be correlated with respect to the day/night average sound level (DNL) descriptor, questions remain as to the role of perceived building vibrations and rattle in human response to helicopter noise. Does hearing windows, ceiling tiles, or objects in the room rattle or does the general perception of building vibration increase the public’s adverse response to helicopter noise? To answer these questions, this study examined the role of vibration and rattle in human response to helicopter noise. Results showed that the A‐frequency‐weighting is generally adequate to assess community response to helicopter noise when no vibration or rattle is induced by the noise. When rattle or vibrations are induced by the helicopter noise, however, A‐weighting does not assess the commun...