Noise
Noise is any sound that is unwanted. It can be so powerful as to cause pain in the ears, or it may represent only a nuisance.
Pitch is a characteristic of sound that refers to how high or low a sound appears to be. It is determined by the frequency of the sound wave, with higher frequencies producing higher pitches and lower frequencies producing lower pitches. Pitch that is quite high or very low; its duration, continuous or intermittent; and its onset, sudden or gradual.
Exposure to excessive noise may lead to:
- Serious, temporary, or permanent deafness;
- Tinnitus;
- Paracusis; or
- Other hearing disorders.
The louder the noise and the longer the duration, the greater the risk of injury. Nuisance noise may interfere with a worker's ability to focus or concentrate on the work at hand, and may therefore, actually be the indirect cause of an accident.
Oregon OSHA conducted measurements and found sound levels produced by computer workstations and associated equipment to be consistently below those that damage hearing. However, equipment noise can still be disruptive, annoying, or distracting, and many people are sensitive to the low-level, high-frequency noise that the Central Processing Unit (CPU) may emit. As a result, ambient sound levels should be kept below 55 decibels on the A-scale (dBA). Also, narrow-band tones above ambient sound levels should be reduced. It is good practice to isolate main CPUs and disk drives and provide noise-control covers on high-speed printers.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
4-4. Exposure to excessive noise may lead to _____.
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