How to Solve Noise Pollution

People pay attention to other types of pollutions — like the notable effects of air and environmental pollution — but the dangers associated with noise pollution are often overlooked. The effects of noise pollution can be quite harmful, and it’s important to consider ways to reduce these effects. Here, we’ll outline important noise pollution facts, as well as some ideas on how you can control noise pollution in your environment.

What Is Noise Pollution?

Life is inevitably noisy. Listening to the sounds of birds chirping and pleasant chatter makes life more enjoyable — but unwanted and intrusive sounds have the opposite effect. Noise pollution is an excess of unpleasant sounds. They interfere with daily functioning, such as sleeping, conversing or the ability to concentrate on hobbies or work.

Unfortunately, some of these sounds are unavoidable, especially for those living in an urban environment. But, there are ways you can limit the effects of noise pollution and take back control of your daily routine.

What Are Some Common Causes of Noise Pollution?

One person’s desirable sound can be another person’s noise. For example, your neighbor may feel like a rockstar as he bangs his drumsticks on his drumset, but his less-than-palatable music only serves as a disruption to your movie night or studying.

Other common causes of noise pollution include:

• Traffic from nearby roads
• Air traffic
• Construction zones
• Pets and wildlife
• Music

Basically, if a noise interferes with your daily routine, it’s considered noise pollution.

How Do These Noise Pollutants Affect You?

Noise pollution has many detrimental effects. Prolonged exposure to noise pollutants can cause:

• Hearing loss, or other hearing-related problems.
• Sleep disruptions, which can create further health problems.
• Concentration disruption.
• Elevated stress, which leads to a whole host of health problems.
• Headaches and irritability, which may interfere with your social relationships.

Noise pollutants also impact wildlife and the environment. As an example, whales use sound to communicate and find food. Submarines, which use SONAR, jeopardize whales’ survival by interfering with their use of sound and potentially leading to physical injuries or death.

Many people don’t realize the effects noise pollution has on them. Today, listen carefully to your surroundings and take note of any noises you hear that interrupt your routine. You may be surprised at how many interruptions you recognize once you’re aware of these effects.

How Can We Solve Noise Pollution?

At Soundproof Cow, our sound technicians supply a herd of DIY soundproofing materials you can use to reduce noise pollution.

The goal of soundproofing is not to eliminate sound completely. Rather, its goal is to either eliminate, absorb or redirect sound waves for optimal audible sound. By putting up soundproofing equipment in your environment, you may find it easier to think, hear and communicate — even if there’s a lot of loud noise happening outside or upstairs.

Consider these soundproofing tools when eliminating noise pollution in your work or home:

1. Quiet Batt® 30 Soundproofing Insulation

If you’ve ever installed traditional insulation, you know how frustrating it can be to work with. Consider an upgrade from traditional insulation to our Quiet Batt® 30 Soundproofing Insulation. This soundproofing insulation is made of 80% recycled, high-density cotton. We also leave out harmful chemicals, unlike other soundproofing insulation alternatives. The Quiet Batt® 30 Soundproofing Insulation is so natural, you can install it with your bare hands!

Our soundproof insulation is suited for residential and commercial interior and exterior walls, floors, ceilings and attic spaces. You can install it to block out any exterior noises or traveling interior sounds. Installation is easy, requiring only a utility knife, straight edge, tape measure and a marker. For more information, check out our Quiet Batt® installation instructions.

2. Acoustic Panels

A powerful complement to the Quiet Batt® 30 Soundproofing Insulation is our sound-absorbing acoustic panels.

Sound waves travel every which way around your room. Think of what would happen if you threw a bouncy ball full-force at a wall in an empty room. It would bounce off other walls, floors and even the ceiling. Sound waves travel in a similar way, stopping when they lose force or if something stops them.

Place acoustic panels on the walls strategically to help absorb extraneous sound waves to limit the amount of noise pollution in a room. We have three acoustic panel options:

• Art acoustic panels
• Fabric wrapped acoustic panels
• Perforated acoustic wood panels

Each panel is designed to match the unique aesthetics of your room, so you don’t have to sacrifice functionality for appearance. And installation is easy! Each panel can be custom-made to your room’s specifications. Once it arrives at your doorstep, all you have to do is hang it up appropriately, and you’re done.

3. Udderly Quiet® Acoustic Cloud

Accompanying our family of fabric-wrapped acoustic panels is our newest addition, the Udderly Quiet® Acoustic Cloud. Ceilings are major culprits of airborne and impact noises. The difference between the two is:

• Airborne noises include any audio travel, like when you hear your upstairs neighbor’s music or conversation.
• Impact noises are any noise transfer from direct contact, like hearing anyone upstairs walking or the sound of furniture moving.

Our Udderly Quiet® Acoustic Cloud hangs from your ceiling to absorb both of these sounds. And, like acoustic panels, the Acoustic Cloud is easy to install and is custom-made for your room.

4. Door Sweeps and Seals

Doors are major culprits for sound pollution in residential and commercial settings. Sound waves bounce around in their hollow cores, amplifying any sound and easily transferring it into a room. Doors also have an open perimeter in the space between the door and the doorframe where sound waves sneak through. To solve these problems, we created an easy solution — our Soundproof Cow door sweeps and seals.

Application is easy, and everything you need comes in our convenient Quiet Door™ Soundproofing Kit.

Browse Soundproof Cow for More DIY-Soundproofing Tools and Tips

At Soundproof Cow, our Account Managers have spent the past 23 years studying the art of soundproofing. Our focus is on our customers. We want to offer you DIY-soundproofing equipment and unparalleled customer service aimed at improving your quality of life without the hassle associated with other soundproofing alternatives.

If you’re looking for other methods and tips to reduce noise pollution in your home or work environment, browse our website. Fill out our online questionnaire, and our soundproof technicians will help you get started. For even faster service, give us a call at 1-866-949-9269.