ergonomics - hearing (auditory sense)
TRANSCRIPT
HEARING
AcousticsThe science and
technology of sound, including its production,
transmission, and effects
• Transmit desired sounds reliably and pleasantly to the hearer
• Satisfactory to the human regarding noise
• Minimizes sound-related annoyance and stress
• Minimizes disruptions of speech
• Prevents hearing loss
Acoustical design goal
Psycho-AcousticsDescribe how we perceive sound in relation to their
physical properties (pitch, timbre,
loudness, noise and speech
comprehension)
SOUNDAny vibration (passage of zones of compression and rarefaction through
the air or any other physical medium) that stimulates an auditory
sensation.
Ear Anatomy and Hearing
HOW DO WE HEAR?
The human HEARING range
can rarely hear frequencies
above 12 kHz
ADULTcan hear tones
of about 16 Hz to 20 kHz
YOUNG
RANGES OF ADULT HUMAN HEARING
Sound Pressure Level
or
Where:
Pₒ = the threshold of the hearing
P = root-mean-square (rms) sound pressure for the existing sound
SOUND INTENSITY LEVELS
Airborne sound travels through the
ear canal and excites the eardrums and
the structures behind it
Pathways of Sound
Fox (1983) distinguished between two different
kinds of music: background and
industrial.
Human Responses to Music
Sound that is unwanted, objectionable, annoying,
or unacceptable to a person, which is often but not always loud
NOISE
Noise can create negative emotions, feelings of surprise, frustration, anger,
and fear
HUMAN RESPONSE TO NOISE
The damage is probably due to an overstimulation of cell metabolism, leading to oxygen depletion and destruction, or to
exceeding the elastic capacities of the physical structures.
Results of damage to the cochlear cilia, the organs of Corti at the basilar membrane in the
inner ear, or the nerves leading to the CNS.
Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) and Permanent Threshold Shift (PTS)
Physiological Effects of Sound
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NOISE
A permanent hearing impairment resulting
from prolonged exposure to high levels
of noise
Noise-induced Hearing
\Loss (NIHL))
As noise becomes more intense, we become
more aroused and our performance of certain
tasks can improve.
Beyond a certain level of intensity, however,
task performance degrades.
EFFECTS OF NOISE
EFFECTS OF NOISE ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Three Strategies
to PREVENT
NIHL
Avoid the generation of sound by properly
designing machine parts such as gears or
bearings, reducing rotational velocities,
changing the flow of air, or replacing a noisy
apparatus with a quieter one
HEARING PROTECTION DEVICES
An earplug is a device worn in the external ear canal which is commonly made from vinyl,
silicone, elastomer formulations, cotton and wax, spun glass
wool, and slow-recovery closed-cell
foam