There are many specific purposes for sound masking, but they all come down to three primary purposes:
- reducing the intrusiveness of noise
- improving speech privacy
- achieving a green rating
This blog article will explain each of these three purposes.
Reducing intrusive noise
Intrusive noise is any noise that distracts or intrudes in a space. In an office space, that might include people typing or talking, like the example in the picture above. The quieter the space, the worse the noise intrusion. If you can ‘hear a pin drop’ in your office, you probably need sound masking.
Intrusive noise may also include external noises like road noise or construction. Night clubs, music venues, and other noisy neighbours are other examples where noise intrudes.
Adding a background sound that can be shaped to the intruding noise reduces the perception of the noise. This improves acoustic comfort and reduces stress levels.
Improving speech privacy
Another of the purposes for sound masking—speech privacy—can be a legal requirement. Health providers are subject to privacy legislation, as well as professionals like lawyers, financial advisors, and even government workers including police. Breaches of privacy can be very serious, resulting in penalties and litigation.
Clients can achieve speech privacy by adding a masking sound specially tuned to human speech frequencies. This raises the background sound levels and ensures that confidential conversations remain private.
Green rating compliance
LEED, WELL, and Green Globes all have a specific sound masking component. In fact, most green standards have mandated background sound levels. Generally, these can only be achieved with sound masking.
Indeed, sound masking can achieve the required ratings in these indoor environment quality or other acoustic categories. For example, our Council House 2 installation assisted the client achieve a 6 Star rating for the building.
Soundmask can help you with reducing intrusive noise, ensuring speech privacy, and compliance with Green standards.