Visitor sensitivity to aircraft noise varies enormously with visit context and expectations
Evidence
Visitors for whom natural quiet is very or extremely important are 10 to 50 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. … Visitors that have visited the site before are 20 to 35 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. … Visitors in adults-only groups are 10-to-20 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. … Visitors on short hikes are 35 to 70 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. … High-altitude jet aircraft produced annoyance for 16 % of visitors for 40 dB, but tour aircraft noise annoyed 36 % of visitor for 40 dB. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 2329
Visitors who consider natural quiet very or extremely important are more sensitive to aircraft noise of 10–50 dB. Visitors that have experienced a past visit at the same site were 20–35 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. Visitors in adults-only groups were 10–20 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise than other visitors. Finally, visitors on short hikes were 35–70 dB more sensitive to aircraft noise. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 2465
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 2329; Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 2465
- XREF: connects to: Expecting aircraft noise reduces how annoying visitors find it — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 2339; Landscape appreciation modulates how much noise annoys listeners — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 957; Reducing physical noise does not automatically improve perceived urban comfort — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1047 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Soundscape quality depends on wanted-versus-unwanted context, not decibel level
#expands(0.82) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1452 - Aircraft noise dissipates with altitude but regulatory floors fail where tours fly low
#qualifies(0.80) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1637