Thresholds and acceptability of low frequency pure tones by sufferers

In order to investigate sensory thresholds and to make subjective evaluations of low frequency pure tones in noise sufferers who complain of annoying environments in their everyday life, sound pressure levels of sensory thresholds and subjectively acceptable maximum SPL levels for a living room were measured in a low frequency chamber. These measurements involved a psychophysical experiment using eleven pure tones at low frequencies from 10Hz to 100 Hz as stimuli, and the psychophysical method of subject adjustment was used for the measurements. Twelve members of the noise-sufferer's society in Japan participated as subjects (referred to as participants in the measurement experiment). The results show that all the participants' acceptable maximum sound pressure levels were relatively low, and nearly equal to their sensory thresholds. These results are characteristic of the participants and differ from the previous results obtained from the other adults.