Noise is defined by annoyance, disturbance, or hearing harm rather than loudness alone

Evidence

We receive continuously a multitude of sound information, but most of these data remain outside of our consciousness. Sounds that are unexpected or otherwise in the focus of attention can be analysed and memorized in more detail over long periods of time. If a sound is annoying, disturbing, or just so loud that it can be harmful to the hearing of a subject, it is called noise. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 70

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gives the operative definition of noise as an attention-and-harm-driven concept, not a purely physical one.
• XREF: Connects to One Square Inch of Silence — noise as subjective/‘unwanted sound’ rather than acoustic measurement. — connects to: Noise is best defined contextually as any sound that obstructs intended communication — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1241
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 70