Alves-Pereira, M. et al Legislation Hinders Research into Low Frequency Noise
Mariana Alves-Pereira, Joao Joanaz de Melo, Jersy Motylewski, Elzbieta Kotlicka, Nuno A.A. Castelo Branco
Routine noise evaluations, conducted primarily to avoid hearing loss, characterise the overall amplitude of the acoustic environment, while frequency distribution analyses are rarely performed. Alone, a dB-level measurement does not adequately characterise an acoustic environment; two locations may be comparable in terms of dB-levels, but quite distinct when their frequency distributions are taken into account.
Vibroacoustic disease is a consequence of exposure to acoustic phenomena within the low frequency ranges (<500 Hz, including infrasound).
However, because legislation does not require frequency distribution analyses, the real acoustic content of the vast majority of occupational and environmental noise exposure remains unknown.