Sound - Noise and the Indoor Environment

Sound is everywhere, and we hear sounds from many different sources throughout our daily lives. In its most basic sense, vibrating objects, which in turn cause a slight change in the air pressure, produce sound. These pressure changes travel in the form of sound waves through the air or other media, such as walls, floors, or ceilings, and are eventually detected by the listener’s ear and interpreted by his or her brain as information, or specific sounds. Sound is what we hear. Noise, on the other hand, is unwanted sound. And even relatively quiet noise can be distracting.

Noise in an indoor environment can cause any number of different problems depending on what the space is used for, who is using it, and how long the noise is present.

Three common situations include excessively loud noises, prolonged exposure to loud noise, and uncontrolled noise. Each of these situations can impact people in negative ways.

Exposure to excessively loud noise, such as a blast or extremely loud music, can cause physical damage to the ear as well as psychological distress to the listener. Everyone is unique, and so the noise will impact people differently, but by and large, excessively loud noise tends to have negative health impacts. At the most extreme, exposure to high levels of noise can cause either a temporary change in hearing, temporary ringing in the ears (tinnitus), or, if combined with prolonged exposure, permanent tinnitus and/or permanent hearing loss. In addition to the physical impacts, excessively loud noise can be physically and psychologically stressful. This stress, in turn, can reduce a person’s workplace productivity, interfere with their ability to communicate and concentrate on the job, and can even impact their safety if the situation makes it difficult to hear warning signals.