A further test of relevance of ASEL and CSEL in the determination of the rating sound level for shooting sounds

In a previous study on the annoyance caused by shooting sounds [Proceedings Internoise '96, Vol. 5, 2231-2236], it was shown that an almost perfect prediction of the annoyance, as rated indoors with the windows closed, was obtained on the basis of the weighted sum of the outdoor A-weighted and C-weighted sound exposure levels [ASEL (LAE) and CSEL (LCE)] of the impulse sounds. Basically, the annoyance (y) was given by y = c + aLAE + ß×?L×LAE, in which ?L = LCE-LAE. In that study just one type of facade attenuation (FA) was simulated. In the present study the annoyance was determined for four FA types that varied from low (windows slightly opened) to very high (20 dB at 16 Hz to 50 dB at 8 kHz). Again, the sounds were produced by firearms ranging in calibre from 7.62 to 155 mm, and were presented at different levels. In all four FA conditions, the annoy-ance could be very well predicted by the equation given above, multiple r² varied from 95 to 97%. Relative to the prediction on the basis of ASEL only, the increase in r² varied from 7% in the slightly opened windows condition to 55% in one of the high FA conditions. It was concluded that for the determination of the rating sound level, the acoustic parameters ASEL and CSEL are very powerful