On the study of effects on different types of natural sounds on the perception of combined sound environment with road traffic noise

Previous studies suggested that individuals generally had high preferences for natural sounds. Natural sounds like water sounds and bird songs added to noises were determined to be able to improve the quality of acoustic environment. Although it has been revealed how different types of water sounds would affect the preferences for environment differently when adding to road traffic to noises, little effort was spent on investigating how different types of natural sounds would interact with noises in a combined sound environment. Accordingly, this study aimed at comparing the effects of bird songs and water sounds on the perception of combined sound environment. It also aimed at studying whether a particular range of signal-to-noise ratios existed for bird songs which could produce the best sound masking effect for traffic noise. Also, it aimed at revealing the relationship between the perceived dominant sound source and noise annoyance induced by the combined natural-traffic sounds. The findings arising from this study should provide more insights on open space planning for maximizing the acoustic comfort in the environment.