Extra-auditory physiological impacts of low frequency noise on humans and the A-weighting network

Abstract

Noise exposure causes many adverse impacts on health, including auditory alterations, non-auditory physiological effects and psycho-social consequences. The extent of each effect depends, among other factors, on the frequency content of the acoustic stimulus. This article summarizes the non-auditory physiological effects on health that could take place due to low-frequency noise, as reported in the technical literature. The main goal is to evaluate the suitability of the A-weighting network from the point of view of health. The findings indicate that many harmful effects can be induced because of low-frequency noise, mainly at high sound pressure levels. Since the A-weighting network dismisses the low frequency range, it is expected that it would not be adequate for evaluating the global effect of noise on humans, in particular when the noise has very high immission levels. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America.