Abstract

The A-weighting network is derived from the equal loudness contours, measured for the human ear. Nowadays, it is widely used in acoustics measurements and noise legal assessment. There are extra-hearing adverse effects of noise on human that are not appropriately represented by the A-Weighting Network. This is because the sound spectra that cause some physiological disturbances are not equal to the hearing sensitivity spectrum. The dB(A) is related only with the last one. The noise spectra related with each effect on health were analyzed from the base of an extensive bibliographic review, and then they were compared with the A-curve. It was found that, above 90 dB, the A-Weighting Network is not adequate for evaluating the total effect of noise on health.