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Characterization of Noise in Eating Establishments Based on Psychoacoustic Parameters

Noise in eating establishments has been studied in architectural acoustics literature. For evaluating acoustics in these spaces, researchers predominantly investigate sound pressure levels and reverberation times. Yet, noise in eating spaces originate from a wide variety of sources and is hard to describe and evaluate with only sound pressure levels and reverberation times. Better metrics for acoustics in closed public spaces are needed. Psychoacoustic parameters of loudness, sharpness, fluctuation strength and roughness are promising metrics that have been used by many recent studies evaluating noise annoyance. However, unlike the established metrics such as reverberation time, no set of recommended values exist for these parameters, yet. The aim of this study is to investigate noise in eating establishments through psychoacoustic parameters and understand both the noise characteristics and the metrics themselves. This paper presents a set of sound recordings during lunch hours in two eating spaces in Izmir Institute of Technology. The entry and egress of occupants have been tracked manually, while sound levels have been measured and the noise has been recorded for psychoacoustics analysis. The relationship between the number of occupants and psychoacoustic parameters has been investigated through these objective measurements. The relationship between the number of occupants and sound levels is discussed in the light of the Lombard effect.