[Effects of loud noise on nasal skin temperature]

It has been demonstrated that stress conditions for babies such as a brief mother-infant separation cause the nasal skin temperature to drop. Changes in skin temperature may be taken as a representative sample of bodily reaction correlated with emotional changes. The purpose of this study is to investigate nasal skin temperature changes under loud noise situation. Fifty-two undergraduates were divided into two groups. Each group had 13 male and 13 female subjects. One group was given 100 dB and another was given 45 dB white noise. The Infrared Telethermograph Imager was used to measure nasal skin temperature changes. The results showed that the nasal skin temperature under 100 dB white noise decreased by about 0.5 degree C. However, under 45 dB no significant change was found. These findings suggest that the facial skin temperature will be one of the promising indices to detect various emotional changes.