Tollbooth Operators' Response to Traffic Noise and the Performance of an Active Noise Control Headset: Survey Results

JP Feist, L Mongeau… - Transportation research …, 2001 - journals.sagepub.com
JP Feist, L Mongeau, RJ Bernhard
Transportation research record, 2001journals.sagepub.com
Two surveys were administered to tollbooth employees working at a toll collection plaza
located in Indiana. The first was used to evaluate employees' subjective response to the
ambient noise levels in their occupational environment. The results confirmed that ambient
noise is perceived as undesirable and hampers communication between operators and
patrons. In the second survey tollbooth attendants were asked to evaluate a specific type of
open ear active noise control headphone and rate its performance with respect to noise …
Two surveys were administered to tollbooth employees working at a toll collection plaza located in Indiana. The first was used to evaluate employees’ subjective response to the ambient noise levels in their occupational environment. The results confirmed that ambient noise is perceived as undesirable and hampers communication between operators and patrons. In the second survey tollbooth attendants were asked to evaluate a specific type of open ear active noise control headphone and rate its performance with respect to noise reduction, speech intelligibility, and comfort. The results showed that the active headset effectively reduced ambient noise, but its ability to improve speech intelligibility could not be demonstrated. Additionally, the active headset was found to cause slight discomfort.
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