While data breaches often make the news, the problem of sound transmission looms large for those who value speech privacy or simply freedom from unwanted noise. Defining sound transmission Any noise the moves between or through objects can be considered sound or acoustic transmission. In an open plan office, for example, sound can transmit over…

Residential air-conditioning noise shouldn’t be the number one question acoustic consultants get asked to solve. For one thing, the average home owner does not have the means to pay professional fees required. But in this fifth blog in our Acoustics in the Sun series, that exact issue inspired Michael Hayne and Richard Devereux to prepare a paper…

Did you know there’s been quite a lot of research into noise and blood pressure? In fact, there’s more than you might expect. This makes sense given that high blood pressure (also known as “hypertension”) is a precursor to heart disease—the leading cause of death globally. Anything that might induce hypertension is worth studying in…

When you think of movable walls, it might bring to mind university lecture theatres, school auditoriums, or classrooms. It might not be the first thing you think about when you’re confronted with hotel noise problems. Conferences and meetings But, for most hotels, accommodation is only one of several revenue sources for the venue. Most hotels…

When you see the headline “bird song and stress”, what does that bring to mind? My initial reaction is to recall the next door’s annoying rooster that used to wake me up at the crack of dawn. Well, that’s not what we’re talking about here. In fact, quite the opposite. Did you know that bird…

Urban greening brings to mind rooftop gardens, tree lined streets, and vines climbing the walls of high-rise buildings. At least for me, it’s always been something aesthetic, rather than acoustic. But this fourth blog in our Acoustics in the Sun series, covers acoustic perception via Timothy Van Renterghem from Ghent University in his paper Audio-visual interactions in…

Did you know that workplace interruptions and distractions can derail productivity? Research into distractions and productivity dating back decades confirms that interruptions not only reduce productivity, but also impact the quality of work output. Reduced productivity Workers in open plan offices are interrupted by colleagues conversations, intrusive noise, notifications, and other distractions. Research shows that…

Liforce offers a wide range of Osteopathy services at their Malvern suites, as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Remedial Massage, and other holistic therapies. The suites are next to a busy main road. Having built a successful practice with plenty of clients, only one thing held them back: auditory privacy. Auditory privacy problems With practitioners…

I recently read an article reviewing the data on the link between noise stress and mental health. Merve Eşmebaşı had touched on it during her presentation on biophilic design, so I knew that there was an adverse link. But I had no idea how bad it was. To quote the paper: exposure to noise, particularly…

This is our third blog in our Acoustics in the Sun series. Find the second article here. Today’s features Tim Beresford and Max Cyril’s paper titled: Design and implementation of a masking system for tonal industrial noise emissions. This was an exciting paper for me, because it confirmed what I’d always suspected: masking can work…