Combined effects of heat and noise on human performance: a review

This paper examines the combined effects of heat and noise upon behavioral measures of human performance. Specifically, capabilities on a variety of neuromuscular and mental tasks are reviewed with respect to their vulnerability to joint thermal and acoustic action. The majority of evidence indicates that such stressors do not interact significantly within the ranges experienced commonly in the industrial setting. However, various experimental and methodological inadequacies in the meager data base caution at the present time against a simple interpretation of this apparent insensitivity.