Noise is Unwanted Sound
Sound is energy and the amount of energy determines the quality of the sound as well as the ability of the sound to travel through air, walls, water or other mediums. Low frequency sound waves have tremendous energy and, therefore, can be heard miles from the noise source. If you have lived in an apartment, you know the music you hear from the adjacent apartment is the bass, the low frequency sounds. High frequency sound contains small amounts of energy and can be diminished by standard sheetrock or other types of mass barrier.
To reduce noise transmission from one area to another, three methods are commonly used: treat the noise source, treat the noise path or isolate the receiver (the person who is hearing the noise). Treatment of the noise source is typically the most effective and economical. As an illustration, picture a light bulb (noise source) in the center of the room. Your goal is to keep the room dark (quiet). If you encapsulate the bulb, the room is dark. However, once the room is lit, reducing the light by adding materials to the room is not very effective (treating the noise path). If you use sunglasses on the eyes of the receiver (the person who desires darkness or quiet), you will have to provide sunglasses (ear plugs) for anyone who enters the room. The above clearly demonstrates the economy of treating the noise source or light bulb instead of the path or receiver.
The effects of noise? We often think of our ears when discussing effects of noise. Research validates the effects of noise impact our entire bodies. From Handbook of Environmental Acoustics by James P. Cowan:
- Physiological: hearing loss, hypertension, cardiac disease, ulcers, endocrine and biomedical disorders, nausea, headache, dizziness.
- Psychological: Insomnia, annoyance, fear, stress, learning disability.
- Others: compromising safety, speech interference, sleep interference, compromising privacy, lack of concentration, compromising enjoyment of leisure activities.
Let’s reduce the noise in our world.