Psychoacoustics in Sound Design

Why can the barely audible buzz of a mosquito be so annoying, but we like good music even better when it's loud?
Psychoacoustics investigates the human auditory experience and describes the relationship between acoustic stimuli and human perception. It looks at more than purely quantitative physical measurements, such as sound pressure level or frequency response.
The sound a product makes in operation can give us crucial information about its condition and functionality. A good product sound that meets our expectations in a given context leads to a positive user experience because most people equate - consciously and unconsciously - good sound quality with good product quality. Designing a product sound is about identifying and describing the noise perception and finding the relevant noise components and their sources and transmission paths to preserve desirable noise components and eliminate undesirable ones. Sound designers also actively influence and enrich product sound with new sounds, tones, and noises.