DETECTABILITY OF SOUNDS

Sounds can be obscured or masked by other sounds. However music sounds have characteristics which make then less easy to conceal. If a steady pink noise sound (such as that from a waterfall) is used to mask music sounds, even quiet music may be detected by the presence of tones and a regular beat.

The impression of its loudness also depends on the information carried along, such as that in the lyrics or in the identification of the musical group. For these reasons, it is hard to make accurate predictions about any person's subjective reaction to concert sound.

Because subjective reaction are so varied, it is very wise to establish sound level limits in dB, based on the experience of a "reasonable person", scientific evaluations, and not in terms of subjective annoyance that might be experienced by any one individual.

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