Noise Annoyance During COVID-19 Lockdown: A Research of Public Opinion Before and During the Pandemic

The article titled “Noise Annoyance During COVID-19 Lockdown: A Research of Public Opinion Before and During the Pandemic”, of which Assoc. Prof. Konca Şaher, Head of the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design is a co-author, discusses the change of the relationship we establish with our environment and the location where we live, and our perception of noise reshaped due to our living conditions.

What was the gap in the literature, and what is the preliminary study, which resulted in the article titled “Noise Annoyance During COVID-19 Lockdown: A Research of Public Opinion Before and During the Pandemic”, you were the co-author together with Asst. Prof. Ayça Şentop Dümen from Bilgi University?

The year 2020 designated as the International Sound Year was ironically a year which was ‘quiet’ and ‘isolated.’ The living and working habits that changed during the pandemic and the stress and anxiety conditions that appeared due to the pandemic have started to reshape the relationships that an individual establishes with their environment and the location where they live. Our study was intended to investigate the noise and living conditions that change under these extraordinary conditions and the dwelling users’ perception of noise being reshaped.

When we started this study as public opinion research of the Turkish Acoustical Society for the International Noise Awareness Day on April 29, 2020, there were not many studies in the literature on this subject. It is possible to say that this study progressed concurrently with the ‘new normal’ we all are experiencing.

The article is based on two main axes: First of all, you compare the measurements of two dwellings with different environmental factors in Istanbul (a dwelling with a ‘higher’ environmental noise level that is located near the main street, and another dwelling with an ‘average’ environmental noise level that is located in a greener area). In the second chapter, you assess the results of your questionnaire with 1053 respondents you shared on the website of the Turkish Acoustical Society, of which you are the Chairperson. Could you please inform us briefly about these two chapters?

In the first chapter, we intended to collect objective measuring data about how the environmental noise levels have changed during the pandemic. For this purpose, a study was carried out about the noise levels in 2017; the environmental noise levels were measured for 24 hours in two dwellings, one of which is of ‘high level of noise’ located near the main street, and the other is of ’average level of noise’ located within a residential site. 

In the second chapter, we started a questionnaire study to investigate the perception of noise in dwellings during the first wave of the pandemic. For this questionnaire, the respondents were asked to assess their annoyance due to the traffic noise, neighbors’ noises and noises from the other rooms in the house heard in their dwellings during the one month after the pandemic started pre-pandemic period. The questionnaire also contained questions intended to measure the dwelling satisfaction, noise sensitivity, time spent at home, stress felt, and anxiety level.

This questionnaire we started on April 29, 2020, continued until June 1, 2020. The respondents to the questionnaire were from 46 provinces, mainly from Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir and, the responses from 1053 respondents were evaluated.

What differences are observed in the environmental noise levels of these two dwellings comparing the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic period? Which types of noise increase and which types of noise decrease?

The noise level measurements were separately carried out on the weekdays and the weekends, for which lockdowns were imposed. The measurement results for the weekdays show that the noise levels for both dwellings reduced by about 2 dB compared to the pre-pandemic period. However, one could say that the reduction in the environmental noise levels was less than expected because of the increase in the frequency of using balconies and the time spent at home. These results suggest that the reduction scheduled due to the decrease in traffic density is was not too high due to the increase in people noises around the buildings.

This is especially highlighted in the measurement results for the weekends when lockdowns were being imposed. The measurements taken during the lockdowns indicate that the noise level in the dwelling with the ‘high level of noise’ decreased by about 8 dB, while the noise level in the dwelling with the ‘average level of noise’ increased by 5 dB due to people’s outdoor activities. In other words, there was a decrease in transportation noises, while there was an increase in the noise levels caused due to people’s actions.

What is the basis of the definition for calming or disturbing sounds? Which sounds are particularly named as calming/disturbing?

Although there is some research in the literature trying to define the ‘disturbing sound’ with the level of spectrum features of the sound, it is hard to say that there is a definite answer to this question since it is not possible to consider this concept separately from the context and the psychological structures of individuals.

Based on the verbal comments of the respondents to our questionnaire, talking, children crying, music, cleaning, flush tank, and balcony activities are defined as “disturbing’ sounds. In contrast, bird calls and talking sounds are defined as “calming” sounds. As you see the talking sounds from neighbors are defined as both “disturbing” sounds and “calming” sounds, which is a good example of the association between the sound and the individuals’ psychologies.

This questionnaire focuses on noise annoyances due to traffic, neighbors, and personal dwellings, concerns about being heard by neighbors, and overall dwelling satisfaction. Which noise did we complain about the most during the pandemic?

The results show that ‘neighbor noises’ are considered more disturbing than traffic noises and dwelling noises before and during the pandemic. However, as expected, there was a significant decrease in the level of annoyance due to traffic noise; there was no substantial change in the level of ‘neighbors’ noise’ during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.

In other words, what we did complain about the most during the pandemic was ‘neighbor noises,’ but it does not seem that our complaint about ‘neighbor noises’ increased compared to the past. One of the reasons for this is the users who are not disturbed when they hear their neighbors’ sounds but are happy instead since they feel that they are not alone. During the pandemic, people’s dissatisfaction due to their dwelling noises significantly increased compared to the previous period.

Were you surprised by the results of this questionnaire?

One of the most surprising results was an increase in the noise levels by about 5 dB for the dwelling with an ‘average level of noise’ due to people’s outdoor activities comparing the measurements taken during the lockdowns with the pre-pandemic results. It was also surprising that the complaint about ‘neighbor noise’ during the pandemic did not significantly increase compared to the pre-pandemic period. 

And lastly, it was also surprising that the level of annoyance of those with a high level of anxiety and stress did not significantly increase compared to the pre-pandemic period. We will continue studying at the Turkish Acoustical Society to get more precise answers in these subjects.

How did our perception of “home” and how we use it changes due to the pandemic? Is it possible to describe this change as positive or negative?

This study offers some indirect findings of our perception of “home” and how we use it. 61% of the respondents said that they did not leave their homes during this period, while 67% stated that they were doing works requiring a high concentration level daily. Dwellings are now a living space and a place where people work, do exercises, and get socialized. The fact that the time spent at home is extended, many people are present in their dwellings at the same time and, the dwellings are now offering many different functions concurrently is changing the quantity and quality of noise on the one hand and reshaping our expectations in terms of acoustics from these locations on the other hand.

During the pandemic, when we were experiencing these new functions of the dwellings, we observed positive awareness of people regarding “sound” and “sound insulation.” Since “sound insulation” was not a parameter that is easy to observe among the physical conditions offered by dwellings, one could consider positively that there will be an increase in the demand from people for “sound insulation” performance certifications while selecting their real estate properties in the future.

Considering the impacts of noise levels on those living in dwellings with different environmental conditions, in which direction will the designs of architects and interior architects change in the upcoming period?  Which factors will come into prominence?

We predict that the reflections from the transformation of all dwellings into a place where different functions are concurrently offered will continue after the pandemic, irrespective of the environmental conditions. Considering that the level of dwelling satisfaction increases as the environmental noise levels decrease in the locations with a high level of noise during the pandemic, we may think or hope that sound insulation will become an essential factor in the façade designs of architects.

On the other hand, architectures will have to consider the building façade performance due to the increased noise levels due to people activities in residential sites and housing estates, which are predicted to be of “average level of noise” or “low level of noise” conditions and which are known as quiet places because of low level of transportation noises. In either case, one could say that the design criteria concerning sound insulation will become the prominent factors.

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(*) A. S. Dümen & K. Saher (2020); “Noise annoyance during Covid-10 pandemic: A research on public-opinion before and during the pandemic.” Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Volume 148, Issue 6, Dec 2020, pg; 3489-3496.

Please click to read the article: https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/10.0002667