Weighting functions are based on a perceptual or performance value (e.g., loudness level) obtained from the psychometric function for a particular value of a sound parameter (e.g., sound pressure). A psychometric function relates a measure of perception (e.g., loudness) or performance (e.g., percent correct discrimination) to a physical parameter of sound (e.g., sound level for loudness or a difference in sound level for percent correct discrimination). In all of these procedures, a psychometric function is the basis of describing the relationship between physical measures of sound and measures of human perception or performance that result from the presentation of the sound. The review concludes with recommendations for research that might better inform the development of weighting functions and their application, specifically as related to marine mammal environmental issues. The purpose of the review is to provide a better understanding of auditory weighting functions, their usefulness in predicting effects on hearing, and where issues with weighting function development and application exist. Where steps in the development and application of weighting functions could not be determined from the available literature, which is almost exclusively for human applications, this is also identified. The rationale for certain approaches to the development and implementation of auditory weighting functions is provided, as well as various assumptions that have gone into the process. Terms used in this document are either defined in the text, are defined in ANSA/ASA S1.1, Acoustic Terminology, or are discussed in the Appendix. In this review, the history and development of auditory weighting functions are described both for humans and marine mammals. Weighting functions are used to assess a variety of auditory effects on humans (e.g., annoyance, masking, hearing loss) while the effort to develop auditory weighting functions in marine mammals has been driven almost entirely by a desire to more accurately predict and prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The developmental pathways and implementations of auditory weighting functions in humans and marine mammals have not followed parallel paths, driven partly by the available data to inform the weighting functions and partly by the desired application of the functions. Weighting functions have more recently gained momentum in the marine mammal community due to a desire to better predict the auditory effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals. Auditory weighting functions have a storied history in the measurement of sound related to human activity, especially workforce safety and hearing loss, but also to effects such as annoyance and masking. The review concludes with research recommendations to address data gaps and assumptions underlying marine mammal auditory weighting function design and application.Ī variety of auditory weighting functions have been developed for both humans and non-human animals to measure sound in a biologically relevant manner. Compared to the development of human auditory weighting functions, the development of marine mammal auditory weighting functions have faced additional challenges, including a large number of species that must be considered, a lack of audiometric information on most species, and small sample sizes for nearly all species for which auditory data are available. The article also reviews marine mammal auditory weighting functions, the development of which has been fundamentally directed by the objective of predicting and preventing noise-induced hearing loss. The use of auditory weighting functions to assess the effects of environmental noise on humans-such as hearing damage-risk criteria-are presented, as well as lower-level effects such as annoyance and masking. Advances from the modern era of electroacoustics, psychophysical studies of loudness, and other related hearing studies are reviewed with respect to the development and application of human auditory weighting functions, particularly A-weighting. This document reviews the history, development, and use of auditory weighting functions for noise impact assessment in humans and marine mammals.
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