Hoorbaarheid

Hoorbaarheid is a Dutch term that denotes the degree to which a sound is perceptible to a listener. In everyday language it refers to audibility, while in technical contexts it is analyzed in acoustics and audio engineering as the ease with which a signal can be detected under given listening conditions.

Factors influencing hoorbaarheid include the sound pressure level and frequency content of the source, spectral masking by background noise, distance and reverberation, the acoustical properties of the environment, and the hearing ability of the listener. These factors determine how clearly a sound can be heard in real-world settings.

Quantification often uses audibility thresholds, the minimum sound level at which a signal is detectable, expressed in decibels and weighted scales such as dB(A). Psychoacoustic models and equal-loudness contours describe how perceived audibility varies with frequency and level, capturing the non-linear nature of human hearing.

Applications span product design, telecommunications, audio engineering, and environmental noise assessment. The goal is to ensure important sounds, like alerts or speech, are audible, while reducing extraneous noise that diminishes overall speech intelligibility and listener comfort.

Related concepts include loudness, masking, audibility, and speech intelligibility. Hoorbaarheid is thus a core consideration in both practical sound design and audiological evaluation.