How Can Sound Proofing Make Our Lives Better?

Noise pollution is a rising issue for billions of people throughout the world, who are considerably more likely than our forefathers to live in congested cities.

The major issue with excessive noise is that it may induce poor sleep, which can lead to a slew of issues that affect every aspect of your life.

Noise can cause hearing problems and sleep disturbances, which can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure, stress-related cardiac problems, and mental health issues.

Excessive noise might also create irritability and difficulty concentrating.

As populations expand and more people live in close quarters, there is a greater demand for efficient soundproofing.

The dictionary definition of soundproofing is "to prevent sound from entering or being heard outside a room or structure."

Soundproofing can be brought into action by us too:

• If air can get through, then the noise may as well.
• Hence, Reduce vibrations to the greatest extent is feasible.

Soundproofing is the process of making changes to a property's physical structure such that vibrations and airborne sound are scattered and absorbed efficiently.

What happens during Sound Proofing?

Soundproofing works by addressing the two ways that sound travels. The most frequent route for sound to move is airborne, which happens when sound waves generated by something like someone speaking or music being performed travel through the air.

The second mode of sound propagation is impact noise, which occurs when sound waves pass through a solid structure such as floorboards.

How much noise can humans endure?

The standard measurement for measuring sound in decibels (dB). The quietest sound that a human ear can hear is 0dB. Calm breathing has a decibel level of 10dB, which is 10 times louder than almost complete quiet.

Leaves moving in the breeze are not (as you might expect) 20 times as loud as almost complete quiet; in fact, they are 100 times as loud.

Someone whispering at 30 decibels is 1,000 decibels louder. This is because decibels are calculated on a logarithmic scale, which means that the difference between the values grows as the numbers get larger.

Noises up to 85dB in loudness are tolerated by the human ear. Even in the long run, busy traffic noise will not create hearing issues.

However, even a noise as faint as 20dB may be annoying, especially if you can hear it while attempting to sleep.

Fortunately, the quieter the noise, the easier it is to soundproof against it.

Noise levels of 90 decibels or more will penetrate most windows and wake all but the deepest sleepers. So, whether you live near a railroad track, a farmer's field, or grass that is routinely mowed, soundproofing your windows is a smart option.

If you are experiencing problems with noise levels exceeding 100dB, you must take your soundproofing seriously and do all possible to lessen the impact of the noise.

More than a minute of exposure to noises exceeding 100dB can swiftly lead to irreversible hearing loss. 

What are the methods of Sound Proofing and How can we do It?

Commonly know Sound Proofing methods known to all of us are:

• Putting more distance between yourself and the sounds
• Making a room within a room
• Deflecting the exposed soundwaves
• Creating a certain system/tool that can absorb the exposed soundwaves.
• Establishing noise-cancellation tactics/system.

Putting more distance between yourself and the sounds-

It seems to reason that the further you are from the noise, the quieter it appears.

Unfortunately, this is not a realistic soundproofing option in many situations; but, if your noise problem is caused by something like a loud generator, relocating it further away from your home (and maybe even placing it in a fully soundproofed shed) will make a significant impact.

Sound pressure and intensity both diminish as one moves away from the source of the sound.

Sound levels drop by 6dB every time the distance between the sound source and the sound receiver is doubled, thus relocating your generator from just outside your house to 20m distant should make it entirely inaudible.

Making a room within a room-

The soundproofing method of a room within a room is believed to be by far the most efficient means of soundproofing any room.

Both the 'inner chamber' and 'outside room' feature solid walls that are decoupled to prevent vibrations from passing through.

Decoupling is a technique in which walls, floors, or ceilings are installed in such a manner that they do not come into direct contact with anything that vibrations may pass through, such as another wall, a floor joist, or a ceiling joist.

Adding mass to your wall or placing mass between you and the source of the sound can deflect soundwaves; the more mass, the greater the deflection, and the less probable soundwaves will go through the wall.

Deflecting the exposed soundwaves-

Sound deflection is a type of soundproofing that is commonly utilized in yards or gardens.

It is a fantastic approach to employ if you are bothered by noise from a busy road, railroad line, or airport.

Deflection works by putting something between your house and the source of the noise, which bounces the soundwaves away from your house.

Fences, walls, a shed, a thick hedge, trees, or anything large that obstructs soundwaves can be used as outdoor deflection barriers.

Creating a certain system/tool that can absorb the exposed soundwaves-

Sound absorption differs from soundproofing in that it is frequently employed to improve the acoustics of a room.

It works by directing soundwaves through a medium; when the sound goes through the material, part of the sound energy is absorbed and transformed into heat energy.

Insulation foam, which is widely used within stud walls and beneath floors, is one of the most efficient soundproofing materials for sound absorption.

(ANC) Active Noise Cancellation-

Noise cancellation systems (sometimes referred to as active noise cancellation or ANC systems) are high-tech soundproofing options. They operate by employing a microphone to listen to the sounds in the room through their built-in speakers.

They then play the transverse noise wave, which is another word for opposing noise.

As a consequence, the sound waves cancel each other out, making your room sound silent.

This sort of technology is extremely costly and has limits; for example, it is best suited to cancelling out predictable rhythmic noises such as those produced by an appliance in your house, to be precise, ambient noise.

External noise, which can be of any loudness and originate from any direction, makes it challenging for ANC technology to successfully combat.