van Wieringen Astrid, Glorieux Christ
Department of Neurosciences, Experimental ORL, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, O&N II, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Soft Matter and Biophysics, Laboratory of Acoustics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2018 Oct;144(4):2501. doi: 10.1121/1.5063987.
The objectives of the present study were to investigate the acoustical properties of the very high frequencies and/or ultrasound signals produced by a repellent device and to investigate potential adverse factors as a result of short-term exposure to these signals. Potential adverse effects were evaluated perceptually with 25 young and 25 middle-aged persons, all with normal hearing thresholds, in a quiet room using different outcome measures, including a 15-item survey presented before and immediately after each condition. Spectral analyses showed that, besides emitting frequency modulated sounds in the expected frequency ranges, a faint but audible sound in the 4-5 kHz range was present. On average, a relatively short exposure to the sound produced by a repellent device did not lead to significant adverse effects. Yet, when the signal was perceived, as it was frequently for the younger population at the two lower frequencies settings (12-14 kHz, 25-25 kHz) and with 2 sources emitting, it was considered to be disturbing by several participants. Given the increasing usage of ultrasonic devices as well as the much longer exposure of high frequency and ultrasound in domestic usage, careful consideration and better guidelines are required, especially for those who are most sensitive to sound.
本研究的目的是调查驱虫装置产生的甚高频和/或超声信号的声学特性，并调查短期暴露于这些信号可能产生的不利因素。在安静的房间里，对25名听力阈值正常的年轻人和25名中年人进行了感知评估，以评估潜在的不良影响，使用了不同的结果测量方法，包括在每种情况之前和之后立即进行的一项包含15个项目的调查。频谱分析表明，除了在预期频率范围内发出调频声音外，在4-5kHz范围内还存在微弱但可听见的声音。平均而言，相对短时间暴露于驱虫装置产生的声音不会导致明显的不良影响。然而，当信号被感知到时，正如在两个较低频率设置（12-14kHz、25-25kHz）下年轻人群体经常遇到的情况，以及有两个声源发出信号时，一些参与者认为这很烦人。鉴于超声波装置的使用日益增加，以及在家庭使用中高频和超声波的暴露时间长得多，需要仔细考虑并制定更好的指导方针，尤其是对于那些对声音最敏感的人。
