Have you ever tried to continue your daily routine in a noisy office environment, in a classroom where silence cannot be achieved, or in an environment where you hear heavy traffic? Your answer is probably yes, and you've experienced how disturbing noise, defined as an unwanted collection of sounds, can be. Acoustics is a discipline that generally stays in the background of our daily experience, but if understood, we can realize the positive effects it creates on our quality of life. Acoustic science deals with questions such as what sound is, what characteristics of sounds affect our comfort, and how we can prevent unwanted sounds.
To begin to understand acoustics, which is a very comprehensive field, we need to know some basic concepts. Sound is periodic pressure changes that can be perceived by the hearing organs of living creatures. There are two features that affect the hearing of the sound by the ear. These are magnitude (intensity), is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit area in a direction perpendicular to that area, and the frequency, is the number of times per second that a sound pressure wave repeats itself.
The intensity of sound is measured in decibels (dB). By definition, zero decibels is below the limit of human hearing. Sounds of 20 decibels and above can be heard by humans. The World Health Organization uses 55 dB as the ideal maximum. However, The Turkish Medical Association stated that the values obtained in the noise measurements made in the big cities of our country exceed the threshold values.
A normal conversation is around 60 decibels. This is also an important reference value between the audibility limit and the pain limit (120 dB). To give some other examples to better understand Decibel; normal breathing is 10 dB, a soft whisper is 30 dB, and a soothing rain sound is 50 dB, the noise of a crowded street is 85 dB, a baby crying loudly in your moment is 110 dB and thunder is 120 dB.
The loudest sound intensity that a human can hear is below 160 decibels. Because 180 decibels of violence, such as being next to a rocket launched, makes your eardrum dysfunctional. In other words, the noise that disrupts the acoustic comfort of the environment also affects both the physical and psychological health of people.
Temporary or permanent hearing impairment, headache, increased blood pressure, circulatory disorders, acceleration in respiration and slowing of heart rate are among the physical effects caused by noise. In addition to these, the control of noise, which can be reflected in our daily life in the form of decreased working efficiency, concentration disorder, excessive nervousness and stress, is important for human health. Finding spatial solutions to acoustic problems with urban and architectural projects prevents problems that may adversely affect human health. As the Aspen family, we care about your acoustic comfort and health. You can view our Integra, Sepera and Sepia series, which have high-level sound insulation properties and shine out with their project-specific production alternatives, at our website.
