By: Tony Sprando and Kate Couch

Like many other people, I enjoy listening to (somewhat loud) music while I work. I can zone out of the background noise and get to the important stuff. I have noticed something recently that it is a shared interest, as I also hear others’ loud music while I work. Naturally, this poses a bit of a noise problem, luckily it can be easier to fix than it appears. With most people working in different environments these days, little noses add up and can become unbearable. With some quick identification and problem solving, you can fix your noise issue before the next work week.

Music has been proven to help improve the efficacy of work in a study done by Fariborz Tayyari and James L. Smith called “Effect of Music on Performance in Human-Computer Interface.”

“It was found that, while the music did not disturb the overall accuracy of the task output, it increased the subjects’ speed in data processing and overall productivity. The subjects showed a favorable attitude toward music being introduced at workstations.”

Music can be help keeping us focused but a hindrance when others do it. The solution might seem to stop listing to loud music. This is not always the case. What people forget is our homes are filled with lots of sounds every day and when they get above a certain DB we notice them and they become disturbing.

No offense to my neighbors, but their HVAC unit is loud as all get out … or the sounds of my children running up and down the halls, traffic and the occasional annoying bird. This can be the difference between getting stuff done and not being able to get in the zone. So now that we have identified a noise issue where the solution can’t be stopping the root of the noise we have a few options.

Door-Sealing Kit.

A door-sealing kit is going to be the best option when reducing noise in a small room from outside contributors. You can also do this on the windows as well. This will reduce the amount of noise from the outside getting inside and from the inside getting outside. Contrary to a typical acoustical treatment plan where you might have noise reduction materials on the inside; the objective of this acoustical treatment plan is to prevent small, but loud noises, from outside from getting on the inside.

There’s a little bit of science to this as well. Which has to do with DB. The DB is essentially how loud a noise is. Below is pictured a chart of the common DB of household noise. Figuring out the DB of certain things around your home will help you when making a goal for where you want the noise level to be. The average household with some or no conversation is between 40-60 DB so if you find yourself disturbed by noise a good goal is to get your room back to 60<. Like we mentioned earlier this can most likely be achieved with a door and window sealing kit.

When working from home, the noise of neighbors, family members and roommates can sometimes be disruptive. But once the problems are identified, you’ll find the most basic noise issues come with basic noise solutions.

To know about Tony and his professional profile, see these:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonysprando/

https://www.ravepubs.com/author/tsprando/

www.tonytheavguy.com