Effect of personality traits on sensitivity, annoyance and loudness perception of low- and high-frequency noise

• Published in: Journal of low frequency noise, vibration, and active control Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 643 - 655
• Main Authors: Abbasi, Milad, Tokhi, Mohammad Osman, Falahati, Mohsen, Yazdanirad, Saeid, Ghaljahi, Maryam, Etemadinezhad, Siavash, Jaffari Talaar Poshti, Roghayeh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2021; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Acoustic noise; Lead poisoning; LF noise; Loudness; Multivariate analysis; Noise; Noise levels; Noise sensitivity; Perception; Personality; Personality traits; Sound pressure; sensitivity; high-frequency noise; loudness perception; Personality traits; annoyance; low-frequency noise
• ISSN: 1461-3484; 2048-4046
• DOI: 10.1177/1461348420945818

This paper presents investigations into a comparative assessment of the effects of low- and high-frequency noise in relation to personality traits. The high- and low-frequency noises used are produced in the research laboratory using CoolEdit software. In all, 80 candidates were exposed to equivalent continuous sound pressure level of 65 dBA of low- and high-frequency noise in an acoustic room with a 2-week interval. After 1 hour of exposure to noise, participants were asked to complete noise annoyance scale, Weinstein noise sensitivity questionnaire and loudness perception. The results obtained indicate that there is a significant difference between annoyance and perception of low-frequency noise in comparison to annoyance and perception of high-frequency noise, but no significant difference is noted between sensitivity to low- and high-frequency noise. The multivariate analysis of covariance test is applied, which reveals that personality traits have a significant effect on sensitivity to low- and high-frequency noise, annoyance due to low- and high-frequency noise, loudness perception of low-frequency noise, but no interaction effects are found. It is further shown that personality traits are more effective on sensitivity, annoyance and loudness perception to high-frequency noise than those of low-frequency noise, and such effects are not only influenced by severity of noise but also by personality traits and frequency components.