Indoor soundscapes at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in London – Part I: Associations between the perception of the acoustic environment, occupantś activity and well-being

As part of the Agence Nationale de Recherche Caractérisation des ENvironnements SonorEs urbains (Characterization of urban sound environments) project, a questionnaire was sent in January 2019 to households in a 1 km2 study area in the city of Lorient, France, to which about 318 responded. The main objective of this questionnaire was to collect information about the inhabitants' perception of the sound environments in their neighborhoods, streets, and dwellings. In the same study area, starting mid-2019, about 70 sensors were continuously positioned, and 15 of them were selected for testing sound source recognition models. The French lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis occurred during the project, and the opportunity was taken to send a second questionnaire during April 2020. About 31 of the first 318 first survey respondents answered this second questionnaire. This unique longitudinal dataset, both physical and perceptual, allows the undertaking of an analysis from different perspectives of such a period. The analysis reveals the importance of integrating source recognition tools, soundscape observation protocol, in addition to physical level analysis, to accurately describe the changes in the sound environment.

https://asa.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1121/10.0009324

Multidimensional analyses of the noise impacts of COVID-19 lockdown

Background Recent research indicated that young adults and adolescents reported tinnitus in higher numbers than previously. Thus, it is important to fully investigate risk factors for tinnitus in adolescents and young adults. Purpose The current study examined the influence of two environmental risk factors, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and noise exposure on tinnitus occurrence as self-reported by U.S. adolescents and young adults. Research Design A nonexperimental, cross-sectional design was used for this survey study. Study Sample Of 265 surveys received, 43 were excluded due to ineligibility. The remaining 222 surveys constituted the study sample. Participant respondents included 80 high school students (ages 14–17) and 142 college students (ages 18–30). The sample was primarily female (n = 160). Data Collection and Analysis Three (3) yes/no survey questions regarding SHS exposure, noise exposure, and tinnitus occurrence were analyzed. Statistical analyses included logistic regression, chi-square follow-up tests, and Pearson bivariate correlation analysis. Results Results revealed that 40% of young adults and adolescents surveyed reported that they experienced tinnitus. Regression analysis revealed significant main effects for noise (p = 0.004), gender (p = 0.017), and the interaction of SHS and noise (p = 0.001). There was no main effect of SHS exposure nor age on tinnitus occurrence. Follow-up chi-square analysis conducted to probe the gender effect revealed that females (45.1%) were more likely to experience tinnitus than males (27.7%). Chi-square testing to examine the significant interaction effect revealed statistical significance (p = 0.001) for individuals with reported noise exposure but not for individuals without noise exposure. In the noise-exposed group, individuals who also reported SHS exposure had a lower occurrence of tinnitus (23.6%). In contrast, the noise-exposed individuals without SHS exposure had a higher prevalence of tinnitus (57.9%). An additional chi-square follow-up analysis to examine the main effect of noise revealed no significance (p = 0.199). However, there was a significant (p  Conclusion The current study results suggest there is a higher than expected report of tinnitus incidence in adolescents and young adults. The relationship between tinnitus occurrence and a combined exposure to noise and secondhand smoke revealed a unique effect in adolescents and young adults.

/pdf/effects-of-secondhand-smoke-exposure-and-noise-exposure-on-kdfzuqilun.pdf

Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Noise Exposure on Tinnitus Occurrence in College Students and Adolescents.

The pandemic has impacted every facet of our life, society, and environment. It has also affected both the requirement and challenges for acoustic research and applications. The present article attempts to present a summary of the impact of COVID-19 on several aspects of acoustics, from the changes in the sonic environment due to reduced human and industrial activities to natural ventilation requirements for mitigating the transmission of coronavirus while mitigating noise, and, more importantly, discusses the potential impacts and challenges for acoustics in the post-COVID-19 era. The present study specifically examines the effects of COVID-19 on the sonic environment, the acoustic treatment by considering the need for constant disinfection, the noise control on construction and neighborhood activities in response to an increased number of people working from home, and the need for having natural ventilation while mitigating noise at home and offices.

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-599X/3/3/33/pdf

Perspectives on the Sonic Environment and Noise Mitigations during the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

In this work, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the environmental noise generated by the air traffic at the Hannover Airport, Germany, is assessed. For this purpose, a comparative study of the air traffic noise in the years 2019 and 2020 is conducted by means of publicly available measurement data and computational simulations. Based on environmental noise directives defined by the responsible German authorities, the comparative study is conducted in terms of A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level metrics computed for the six months of the forecast years with the largest number of flights. In comparison with the year of 2019, the measurement data indicates that the L ,   L, and L were reduced in average by 2.4, 4.2, and 3.7 dBA, respectively, in the year 2020. Furthermore, the results based on the computational simulations show that the isocontour areas of the L = 60   dBA and L = 55   dBA noise protection zones defined by the German federal government were reduced by ≈ 40.29 % and ≈ 54.08 %, respectively, in the year of 2020.

The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the air traffic noise at the Hannover airport region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly modified the behavior of societies. The application of isolation measures during the crisis resulted in changes in the acoustic environment. The aim of this work was to characterize the perception of the acoustic environment during the COVID-19 lockdown of people residing in Argentina in 2020. A descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was carried out. A virtual survey was conducted from April 14 to 26, 2020, and was answered mainly by social network users. During this period, Argentina was in a strict lockdown. The sample was finally composed of 1371 people between 18 and 79 years old. It was observed that most of the participants preferred the new acoustic environment. Mainly in the larger cities, before the isolation, mechanical sounds predominated, accompanied by the perception of irritation. Confinement brought a decrease in mechanical sounds and an increase in biological sounds, associated with feelings of tranquility and happiness. The time window opened by the lockdown offered an interesting scenario to assess the effect of anthropogenic noise pollution on the urban environment. This result offers a subjective approach, which contributes to understanding the link between individuals and communities with the environment.

Perception of the acoustic environment during COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina.

El Sistema Eferente Medial (SEM) se encuentra conformado por fibras originadas en tronco cerebral que descienden principalmente a la coclea contralateral. Su funcionamiento puede evaluarse aplicando la Supresion Contralateral (SC) de Otoemisiones Acusticas Producto de Distorsion (OEAPD), analizando las OEAPD sin Estimulacion Acustica Contralateral (EAC) y luego con EAC. El buen funcionamiento del SEM evidencia valores menores en la amplitud con EAC produciendose el efecto supresor. El objetivo fue comparar las amplitudes de la SC de OEAPD en dos grupos de adolescentes, uno con respuestas presentes normales (grupo 1) y otro con respuestas presentes pero anormales (grupo 2). El diseno fue descriptivo correlacional transversal. La muestra fue de 53 adolescentes voluntarios de 14/15 anos de Cordoba con umbrales auditivos menores o iguales a 21 dB PA en 250 a 16000 Hz; timpanometria sin alteraciones y; OEAPD con respuestas presentes, considerando la Relacion Senal Ruido (RSR) menor o igual a 6 dB NPS en al menos 4 de 7 frecuencias. En las OEAPD se utilizo: formula 2f1-f2, relacion 1,22 y L1=L2 (70 dB NPS). La EAC fue ruido blanco de audiometro a 50 dB. Se clasificaron los adolescentes en grupo 1: amplitud mayor o igual a 0 dB NPS y RSR mayor o igual a 6 dB NPS en todas las frecuencias y; grupo 2: amplitud menor a 0 dB en al menos una frecuencia y/o RSR menor a 6 dB en una, dos o tres frecuencias. En el analisis, el grupo 2 presento amplitudes menores en todas las frecuencias en ambas condiciones, sin y con EAC. En los dos grupos se observo predominancia de efecto supresor, sin embargo fue mayor en el grupo 1 en todas las frecuencias de ambos oidos. Las diferencias encontradas podrian ser indicadores subclinicos orientativos del funcionamiento del SEM.

/pdf/supresion-contralateral-de-otoemisiones-acusticas-producto-19jek04jdd.pdf

Supresión Contralateral de Otoemisiones Acústicas Producto de Distorsión en Adolescentes con Audición Normal

Introduction: The most common cause of tinnitus is the exposure to noise; in the case of adolescents, music is the main sound source they are exposed to Currently, one of the hypotheses about the genesis of tinnitus is related to the deterioration in the functioning of the medial olivocochlear system (MOCS) Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the presence or absence of tinnitus in adolescents with normal hearing and to relate it to: (a) the functioning of the MOCS, by the contralateral suppression of the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and (b) the musical general exposure (MGE) Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted The sample was composed by adolescents with ages between 14 and 15 Two questionnaires were administered, one in relation to the subjective report of tinnitus and the other in relation to recreational activities to know the MGE Results: The results showed that the amplitude of frequencies (1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000 Hz) and global amplitude of TEOAEs, with and without acoustic contralateral stimulation, were higher in the group without tinnitus, with a statistically significant difference ( P P Discussion and Conclusion: The results of the present investigation provide a contribution to the hypothesis of “the participation of the MOCS” Furthermore, a high MGE can be considered a risk factor for the onset of tinnitus

Tinnitus, Medial Olivocochlear System, and Music Exposure in Adolescents.

espanolSe determino la relacion entre la participacion en actividades recreativas con exposicion sonora y el mecanismo coclear de proteccion auditiva regulado por el Sistema Eferente Medial. Se evaluaron 72 jovenes entre 18 y 25 anos, mediante cuestionario sobre Exposicion sonora en actividades recreativas y Supresion Contralateral (SC) de Otoemisiones Productos de Distorsion (OEAPD). De acuerdo a la exposicion se clasificaron categorias de Exposicion General a Musica (EGM). A nivel auditivo se clasificaron los oidos en Grupo 1 (OEAPD presentes normales) y Grupo 2 (OEAPD presentes anormales). Luego se aplico la SC de OEAPD. No se encontro una tendencia clara que relacione directamente EGM y nivel auditivo. Esta situacion podria indicar que ambos actuan independientemente. Sin embargo, la mayoria de los jovenes del Grupo 2 pertenecian a las categorias media y alta, pudiendo inferir que el mecanismo de proteccion podria encontrarse vulnerable si la exposicion se mantuviera o incrementara a futuro. EnglishThe relationship between participation in recreational activities with sound exposure and the cochlear mechanism of hearing protection regulated by the medial efferent system was determined. 72 young people between 18 and 25 years old were evaluated by means of a questionnaire on Sound exposure in recreational activities and Contralateral Suppression (CS) by Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE). Young people were classified in categories of General Exposure to Music (GEM). At the hearing level, the ears were classified into Group 1 (DPOAES present normal) and Group 2 (DPOAES present abnormal). Then the DPOAES CS was applied. No clear trend was found that directly related GEM and hearing level. This situation could indicate that both act independently. However, most of the young people in Group 2 belonged to the middle and upper categories, this suggest that the protection mechanism could be vulnerable if the exposure were maintained or increased in the future.

/pdf/participacion-en-actividades-recreativas-con-exposicion-29c380t8ru.pdf

Ana Luz Maggi

Papers

Perception of the acoustic environment during COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina.

Supresión Contralateral de Otoemisiones Acústicas Producto de Distorsión en Adolescentes con Audición Normal

Tinnitus, Medial Olivocochlear System, and Music Exposure in Adolescents.

Participación en actividades recreativas con exposición sonora y mecanismo coclear de protección auditiva en jóvenes universitarios