I recently heard a report on a research project into cockpit noise which
used a bunch of psychology students who had never flown before to fly an
approach (in a simulator!) under two conditions: one with noise in the
cockpit and one without.
The conclusion was that they were worse when there was noise.
...Which just goes to show; if you are ever in an aircraft where a
psychology student who has never flown before is making the approach, make
sure you have noise cancelling headphones to give them.
Sorry I don't mean to be flippant.
I am a great believer in sound as an important sense and I am interested to
know the state of the art in research in this area too.
Best Wishes
Dr. Graham Braithwaite
Department of Aviation
University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052
Australia
Tel: +61 (0) 2 9385 6757
Fax: +61 (0) 2 9385 6637
Mobile: 0414 736 467