Sound Myths & Bytes
Myth: If I'm annoyed by a noise, everyone else will be irritated by the same noise.
Truth: This is false. Music to one person's ears may be a racket to another's. Personal perceptions and community attitudes can strongly influence how annoying a noise is judged to be. Such subjective factors generally include: age and state of health, activities engaged in, ambient noise levels within household(s); previous experience with the type of noise in question; perceptions regarding the necessity or usefulness of the activity creating the noise; attitudes towards, and involvement with, the noise maker.
Myth: Noise is a modern
day phenomenon.
Truth: Noise and city
living are two things that have
gone hand in hand for as long
as cities have existed. In Roman
times, rulers had to pass a bill
that prohibited chariot driving
on cobblestone streets at night.
Myth: Sound goes up.
Truth: Unlike hot air,
sound/noise does not rise. Most
common noise sources tend to radiate sound
evenly in all directions and sound tends to
continue travelling in a straight line until it
encounters a solid object or until wind or air
temperature gradients cause it to bend.
Myth: Weather doesn't
have an impact on noise levels.
Truth: Noise is affected
by weather such as snow and rain. When there is
water on the roadways more noise is generated
by tires rolling over wet pavement. However,
snow, which is porous, absorbs sound resulting
in a quieter city.
Myth: A row of vegetation
can be an effective noise barrier.
Truth: Planting a row of
hedges, trees or bushes across your property
doesn’t significantly reduce noise since there
are too many gaps to be effective. But dense
vegetation placed in front of a fence, wall or
building will absorb some sound energy.
Myth: Styrofoam is a
good sound control material.
Truth: Although
Styrofoam is a good insulator for heat and cold,
it isn’t a high-quality sound control material.
Styrofoam has a closed-cell structure which
doesn’t allow sound waves to enter it easily
and be absorbed.
Myth: The walls of my
house are of 2" x 6" (38 x 140 mm)
construction – I won’t have any
problems with traffic noise.
Truth: While walls with insulated
2" x 6" wood-stud construction will provide
more thermal insulation than standard
2" x 4" walls, they do not provide significantly
more insulation against traffic noise. Despite
the depth of the wood studs, they still create
direct, rigid connections between the outside
and inside surfaces of the wall, and these
connections provide pathways for sound.
Myth: If double-glazed
windows are good, triple-glazed
windows must be better.
Truth: Wrong! Tests have shown that
triple-glazed windows are no better than doubleglazed
if they include the same total weight of
glass and the same maximum airspace width
between the outer panes of glass. Using heavier
double glazing (with wider airspace) is a less
expensive means of getting the same results.
Myth: When I replace the
carpet in my house with hardwood
flooring, there won’t be noise
problems as long as I use one of
those "sound control" underlays.
Truth: The commercially available
resilient underlay materials do not provide as
much footstep noise control as a good carpet
and underlay. Before replacing carpet with
hard floor finishes, you should consult with a
noise control expert, not a hardwood flooring
salesperson.
Myth: Masking
noise helps.
Truth: Masking noise
is sound intentionally
introduced into a
setting to help
cover up or "mask" more
intrusive
noises. While this
approach results in
increased noise exposure,
it can be beneficial
provided the noise being
masked is not too loud.
It is generally best to
use masking noise that
contains a broad range of frequencies (from
lows to highs) and has a pleasant character.
It could simply be continuous background
music played on a home stereo or CDs/
tapes of natural sounds such as surf or
wind in the trees. Masking noise may also
be created naturally, for example, by the
splashing water of an outdoor or indoor
fountain.
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Sound Bytes
Around the home
- Creating a quieter home can be as easy as blocking small cracks and holes with airtight sealant and ensuring that all doors and windows fit well.
- Many sound management measures also provide BC Hydro PowerSmart benefits by reducing energy consumption.
- When installing mechanical devices outdoors, both location and installation techniques are important. One location to avoid is your side yard, or the small narrow space between your house and your neighbours. Noise levels can be further reduced by installing a sound shield around exterior mechanical equipment.
- Screen doors and enclosed entrances can provide very effective sound barriers.
- A high heel shoe can exert in excess of 200 pounds per square inch of pressure and create a lot of noise on a hard floor.
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Out and about
- In the past it was common for people (mostly men) to suffer permanent hearing loss due to noise exposure while working in industry, mining or forestry or though more traumatic noise events associated with shooting or blasting. Such occupational hearing loss is less likely to occur today since the number of workers exposed to such noise has decreased and the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) safety regulations require the wearing of hearing protection devices (HPD's) such as ear plugs and muffs. However, there is now evidence that the population, particularly the younger generations, is suffering hearing loss due mainly to noise exposure received during daily, non-industrialized, life. For young people, much of this noise exposure comes from Walkmans/Discmans/MP3's, home stereos, video and computer games, rock concerts, dance clubs and more recently, powerful car stereos (boom cars) and movie theatres - both commercial and at-home. Thrown into this mix are other noisy pursuits such as motorcycling, jet skiing, snowmobiling and ATV vehicle use.
Visually impaired pedestrians depend on audible signals at intersections to cross the street safely, allowing basic mobility that we all take for granted.
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