consequences

In recent years in The Netherlands there is an increasing attention to nuisance attributed to low frequency (LF) noise. In order to decide whether there is in practice a LF noise problem and moreover to decide whether noise-reducing measures are necessary, there should be an objective criterion. Key question is whether it is possible to formulate a criterion that deals in an appropriate way with both the interests of the annoyed persons as well as the interests of the possible cause of the LF noise. There are some criteria that try to deal with the LF noise problems but each criterion has its own characteristics and imperfections. Using some real cases as illustration the available criteria will be evaluated. Doing so, the requirements of an adequate assessment criterion will be discussed. One of the basic assumptions of the available criteria is the LF hearing threshold. Due to the fact that not many experimental data on hearing thresholds in the LF region are available, most of the mentioned thresholds are based on experimental data in the normal audible frequency band. The perception of LF noise however differs from the perception of ‘normal sound ’ and therefore the ‘rules ’ of normal sound will not automatically apply for LF noise. It is for instance difficult to distinguish between the perception of airborne LF noise and vibrations. Another difficulty of LF noise is that the perception is very individual. This hinders the make of a general criterion. 1