Sound Basics: A Primer in Psychoacoustics

This report contains materials for human factors professionals who may on occasion be called upon to provide consultation on psychoacoustic problems such as the assessment of occupational and residential noise exposure, prediction of speech intelligibility in noisy environments, and the design and integration of auditory displays. Users of the materials are expected to have a basic understanding of algebraic notation and problem solving and logarithms, but need not have any formal background in psychoacoustics or hearing. Many human factors professionals lack formal training in psychoacoustics and can benefit from the materials presented in this report, which include the general principles of physical acoustics and the measurement of sound, as well as an overview of the physiology and psychology of hearing. The materials were compiled for a workshop conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Aural Displays and Bioacoustics Branch. They provide a reference tool that can serve as a starting point for detailed research of specific applied psychoacoustic problems. (21 refs.)Air Force Research Lab Wright-Patterson AFB OH Human Effectiveness Directorate is the author of 'Sound Basics: A Primer in Psychoacoustics' with ISBN 9781423547969 and ISBN 1423547969.