It is no longer unusual for us to deal with nuisance noise on a day-to-day basis. This often includes noise outside our homes, the everyday noises of our workplaces, and the incessant chatter at a crowded event. Our commutes are often filled with noise pollution too. Given the barrage of sound all around us, it has become increasingly important to have those quiet times. We want moments where we are free to enjoy peace and relaxation. Many of us seek these within our own homes, seeing them as our own little slice of tranquillity.
However, a significant number of people still deal with nuisance noise behind closed doors. This might be noise from neighbours or the incessant drone of traffic on the road outside or in the skies above. This can leave you feeling irritated and stressed out. You might even feel frustrated that you can’t make noise yourself to release that tension, worried it will impact your neighbours. Nuisance noise such as this is so common that some people believe it’s just a fact of life. However, dealing with noise has health implications. So much so that healthcare professionals are now taking noise pollution seriously.
In fact, noise pollution has lowered the quality of life for a great number of people. Continual sounds can be the primary cause of many disorders. From headaches to high blood pressure and reduced memory capacity, noise can interfere with the biological, behavioural, and audio logical functioning of our body.
Nuisance noise and your mental wellbeing
One of the most common side effects of living with nuisance noise is sleep disturbance. The importance of sleep is now well documented, with studies showing the role it plays in both our physical and mental wellbeing. When you’re surrounded by incessant noise, not only can your sleep become disturbed or erratic, but continual exposure can also lead to insomnia. Not sleeping well leaves you feeling drained. The longer it continues, the greater the impact it has on your body’s natural ability to rejuvenate.
Extended exposure to noise can also have a significant impact on your senses. Incessant alarms, industrial noise, telephones, and the many contemporary gadgets of the modern age can interfere with your ability to perceive and understand the world around you. In addition, it can significantly affect your psychomotor skills. This is especially true when experiencing a sudden and dramatic noise. Combine these affects with a lack of sleep and, over time, you can become increasingly on edge. In fact, intense and persistent sound can lead to depression and fatigue. Both conditions have a drastic impact on a person’s health, mood, and productivity.
There is an argument that noise can motivate staff in working environments such as call centres. However, we need a calm environment to concentrate, focus and achieve our best work. Nuisance noise prevents us from achieving this.
It has also been shown that incessant noise can cause your muscles to contract. This can have a detrimental impact on our mental health, resulting in issues such as tension and nervousness. But it’s not just our mental wellbeing that is at risk.
Nuisance noise and your physical wellbeing
Noise also affects our physical wellbeing. The most obvious of these is auditory damage. Exposure to a dramatic or unexpected crash of sound can cause acute damage to the eardrum. Plus, prolonged exposure to noise can cause chronic and irreversible damage to the inner ear.
However, damage to your ears is not the only biological effect of nuisance noise. As well as causing muscles to tense, noise can also make your blood vessels contract and increase adrenalin hormone levels. The result of this is an increase in your blood pressure. In fact, excessive noise can also cause your blood to thicken and change your breathing. Loud, sudden noises may even produce changes in your brain.
While we may have the attitude that nuisance noise is just part of life, the truth is we need to take precautions and protect ourselves from the potentially damaging effects of sound if we wish to live healthy, fulfilled lives.
How to reduce the health implications of nuisance noise
One way in which you can do this is to ensure your home is a peaceful sanctuary where you can relax, sleep, and get away from noise.
Unfortunately, the design of many of our homes can make this difficult, particularly if you live in a semi-detached home or new build. Often, it is the construction of the building that is at fault for the nuisance noise. Construction techniques, materials used, and alterations made can all affect the way in which noise travels through your home. In fact, they can even amplify the noise. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
There are things you can do to improve the acoustics in your home. Just soundproofing a room can make all the difference. Many do not think it unusual to spend thousands on improving their kitchen or bathroom. Yet, doing the same for your bedroom or lounge could provide you with the peaceful sanctuary that will improve your health.
While soundproofing is a logical investment, it is not without challenges. Sound is often misunderstood. It is not uncommon for people to spend money carrying out work to soundproof their home, only to discover the noise issue remains or gets worse. This is because of how sound travels. It is also why we have developed our four-step soundproofing method.
You see, at Quietco we believe everyone should be able to enjoy peace and quiet in their own home. We also believe you should be able to make noise yourself without disturbing others!
Our four-step soundproofing method ensures you can achieve this. It combines an expert understanding of how sound travels with knowledge on how construction methods influence this. We carry out a full assessment of how sound is travelling through your home before making our recommendations. The result is a room that really is soundproofed where you can feel settled and comfortable in a peaceful environment, or make your own kind of noise without disturbing your neighbours.
If you want to reduce the health implications of nuisance noise, it’s essential you get advice and support from professional domestic sound insulation companies. You can start with purchasing The Noise Free Home, available on Amazon.
