Household noise: “I want to be in silence”
The neighbor on the right will surely decide that the hammer drill at nine in the morning of Sunday is the best solution to the repair issue. Even some neighbors have small children. Others have an eternal family drama. And Grandma knocks on the bottom of the battery when you listen to music a little louder than usual.
There is a fridge in the kitchen, a kettle is boiling, a computer cooler is buzzing in the room, a counter clicks from time to time in the corridor. Is it too much noise for one person?
We have already written about the variety of harmful and useful sounds.
Now find out what a person hears daily in everyday life.
Photo by Samuel M. Livingston CC
First, let's look at the terminology. Any sound, including noise, in simple terms, is the result of changes in air pressure. These changes cause fluctuations in our eardrum, which we sense and interpret. The difference between noise and any other sounds is in our perception and (in some cases) physiological response. Noise causes irritation of the hearing, and in some cases may even harm.
The permissible noise level at sanitary standards is 55 dB during the daytime and 45 dB at night. In other words, it is this level of noise that, even with prolonged exposure, does not harm hearing. A sound that exceeds 100 decibels can seriously harm a person and even lead to a gradual loss of hearing with prolonged exposure.
Now you can calculate how much we harm our health even just being at home or doing everyday things:
Of course, in each particular case the numbers may differ, especially since the walls silence a significant part of the sound, but nevertheless it becomes clear that everyday noise surrounds us around the clock and often exceeds not only sanitary norms, but also the threshold at which harm is done to the body. .
Our materials on the topic:
Manufacturers of gadgets, too, are not asleep, realizing that in the modern world, silence will soon be worth its weight in gold. Many companies offer both simple ways to get rid of household noise, and breakthrough inventions in order to stay in silence.
For example, the Celestial Tribe company invented the Muzo device, which helps to limit itself from extraneous noise. This is a small column that is mounted on a flat surface, used as a resonator. There are three modes of operation: it removes unwanted sounds, turns on noise reduction and creates a “sound bubble”, beyond which no sound comes out. This mode is used to create privacy, for example, during a confidential conversation. By the way, we already wrote about the device here .
If you take less technological, but effective advice, then the most common: to be at least sometimes in silence. “Sound pollution” acts not only on hearing, but also on the nervous system, so it is very important to stay at least an hour a day in a relatively quiet environment, without gadgets, televisions and computers. Just “meditate”, sit with your eyes closed.
Good windows on windows (for example, three-layer) will help to remove up to 40 dB of external noise. Another way to reduce external noise is to install a second entrance door. If both of them are tightly closed, then you can even muffle the roar of the elevator. We will not mention the installation of noise insulation, as this advice is obvious.
Another simple tip is earplugs. They clean about 30 dB and are made from safe materials. To increase the level of noise insulation, it is worth paying attention to the furniture arrangement: move the large bookcase to the wall, and the bed, on the contrary, be placed away from the wall separating your bedroom from your neighbor's living room.
The noise from the street will help drown out the curtains: velvet, velveteen, brocade, thick cotton and linen. For confidence, you can add a massive lambrequin. Fluffy carpet on the floor first muffle your steps, and secondly, blocks the noise from below.
If you have ever been to children's holiday camps, then you may have been talking with your neighbors through an outlet. In residential buildings, they are also cross-cutting. The problem can be solved by transferring the socket or soundproofing it: a soundproof plug is placed inside the socket, and the remaining slots are filled with cement and treated with sealant (it is advisable to entrust such work to a specialist). You should also check the gaps near the risers heating and water supply.
The walls for additional noise insulation can be decorated: a corkboard with a collage of photos will reduce the noise by a couple of decibels. You can hang the carpet, but it's still a moveton from the 90s.
If you want to address the problem more thoroughly, you can use special panels for acoustic processing: they can look utilitarian (then the room will look a bit like a recording studio), or they can be independent art objects .
At the end of this article we want to conduct a survey to find out the most popular household noise from our readers. And in the comments, we propose to discuss various life hacks, which help smooth out the negative impact of noise and create a comfortable ecosystem of sound.
There is a fridge in the kitchen, a kettle is boiling, a computer cooler is buzzing in the room, a counter clicks from time to time in the corridor. Is it too much noise for one person?
We have already written about the variety of harmful and useful sounds.
Now find out what a person hears daily in everyday life.
Photo by Samuel M. Livingston CC
What and how noise
First, let's look at the terminology. Any sound, including noise, in simple terms, is the result of changes in air pressure. These changes cause fluctuations in our eardrum, which we sense and interpret. The difference between noise and any other sounds is in our perception and (in some cases) physiological response. Noise causes irritation of the hearing, and in some cases may even harm.
The permissible noise level at sanitary standards is 55 dB during the daytime and 45 dB at night. In other words, it is this level of noise that, even with prolonged exposure, does not harm hearing. A sound that exceeds 100 decibels can seriously harm a person and even lead to a gradual loss of hearing with prolonged exposure.
Now you can calculate how much we harm our health even just being at home or doing everyday things:
- Approximately 30 dB gives a ticking wall clock
- At the same mark noise cooler cooling system. In this table, you can see that the noisiest video card almost approaches 40 dB
- Normal human speech gives 40 dB (Here we come to the "night mark"), where the noise from the refrigerator is also
- Approximately here - the level of noise from the topot (and even the most popular sound "rolling a large metal ball"). But it all depends on the strength of the tramp and noise insulation
- Toilet flush - about 60 dB
- A scream or a laugh at a distance of 1 meter gives 75 dB (that is, already above the sanitary standard for the day)
- With a level of about 80 dB, the noise level from the perforator begins (depending on the model, as well as the thickness of the walls and sound insulation in the house, it can reach up to 100 decibels), and SDS + exceed this threshold
- If a neighbor is listening to music very loudly, then the wall thickness may not be enough to turn off the sound to comfortable sanitary standards.
- The vacuum cleaner produces 80 dB, as much as the average motorcycle
- Dog barking starts from the same mark and can reach up to 130 dB. One can only be glad that the neighbor-dog breeder did not start a howler , who is the loudest animal living on land. His cries are heard at a distance of 5 km
- Inside the subway car, we are attacked by 95 dB (we are approaching the mark that is potentially hazardous to health)
- The maximum sound of a regular player is about 115 dB
- Then there are sounds that we hear not so often at the household level: a helicopter taking off, an airplane, a rocket, etc. In the city, our ears with a force of 120 dB are attacking a jackhammer. At 135 dB, you can get a concussion, and even higher - shock, injuries up to rupture of the eardrum
Of course, in each particular case the numbers may differ, especially since the walls silence a significant part of the sound, but nevertheless it becomes clear that everyday noise surrounds us around the clock and often exceeds not only sanitary norms, but also the threshold at which harm is done to the body. .
Our materials on the topic:
- How to make a fortune from noise and become a legend
- Engineer's opinion: How to create your sound ecosystem
How to reduce the burden on the ears
Manufacturers of gadgets, too, are not asleep, realizing that in the modern world, silence will soon be worth its weight in gold. Many companies offer both simple ways to get rid of household noise, and breakthrough inventions in order to stay in silence.
For example, the Celestial Tribe company invented the Muzo device, which helps to limit itself from extraneous noise. This is a small column that is mounted on a flat surface, used as a resonator. There are three modes of operation: it removes unwanted sounds, turns on noise reduction and creates a “sound bubble”, beyond which no sound comes out. This mode is used to create privacy, for example, during a confidential conversation. By the way, we already wrote about the device here .
If you take less technological, but effective advice, then the most common: to be at least sometimes in silence. “Sound pollution” acts not only on hearing, but also on the nervous system, so it is very important to stay at least an hour a day in a relatively quiet environment, without gadgets, televisions and computers. Just “meditate”, sit with your eyes closed.
Good windows on windows (for example, three-layer) will help to remove up to 40 dB of external noise. Another way to reduce external noise is to install a second entrance door. If both of them are tightly closed, then you can even muffle the roar of the elevator. We will not mention the installation of noise insulation, as this advice is obvious.
Another simple tip is earplugs. They clean about 30 dB and are made from safe materials. To increase the level of noise insulation, it is worth paying attention to the furniture arrangement: move the large bookcase to the wall, and the bed, on the contrary, be placed away from the wall separating your bedroom from your neighbor's living room.
The noise from the street will help drown out the curtains: velvet, velveteen, brocade, thick cotton and linen. For confidence, you can add a massive lambrequin. Fluffy carpet on the floor first muffle your steps, and secondly, blocks the noise from below.
If you have ever been to children's holiday camps, then you may have been talking with your neighbors through an outlet. In residential buildings, they are also cross-cutting. The problem can be solved by transferring the socket or soundproofing it: a soundproof plug is placed inside the socket, and the remaining slots are filled with cement and treated with sealant (it is advisable to entrust such work to a specialist). You should also check the gaps near the risers heating and water supply.
The walls for additional noise insulation can be decorated: a corkboard with a collage of photos will reduce the noise by a couple of decibels. You can hang the carpet, but it's still a moveton from the 90s.
If you want to address the problem more thoroughly, you can use special panels for acoustic processing: they can look utilitarian (then the room will look a bit like a recording studio), or they can be independent art objects .
At the end of this article we want to conduct a survey to find out the most popular household noise from our readers. And in the comments, we propose to discuss various life hacks, which help smooth out the negative impact of noise and create a comfortable ecosystem of sound.
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