It’s not just the sound: How people respond to outdoor sounds at home

Abstract

Sounds influence how we experience our home environment, and can have negative effects on our well-being, for example by causing annoyance. Whether a person is annoyed depends on the type of sound and other acoustic factors but also on many contextual factors such as how a person feels, the urban context and building characteristics. Previous studies did laboratory tests confirming that having a choice, or control over the sound or environment, is likely to reduce annoyance. However, few studies consider how people respond to sounds at home. Therefore, the present study considers responses of residents to different environmental sounds in dwellings, with residents of two student buildings working on home excercises with a sound map, survey and notes for a week. Afterwards an interview was conducted. Results show various responses ranging from the initial response of seeing what is going on, to changes in the environment, blocking and masking strategies, and anticipative changes and habits. Moreover, responses as well as sound perception seem to depend on many contextual factors including building factors such as insulation, personal preferences and the type of activities a participant does at home. The results were limited due to a small sample size. For future research sound recordings and a focus on different types of buildings is suggested.