Sound Masking and Mental Health

Bergefurt and teammates report that “To date, most studies on sound masking are short-term laboratory studies. . . . The current study aims to evaluate, using a longitudinal field study . . . at two organizations, whether level-adaptive sound masking could reduce intelligible speech and increase mental health, while being exposed to level-adaptive sound masking for two to three months. The study consists of two subjective measurements, prior- and post-intervention, using survey questions on coping strategies, noise distraction, and ten mental health indicators (short-and long-term consequences). The increase in background noise level (at company 1 from 28.7 dB(A) to 41.9 dB(A) and at company 2 from 32.4 dB(A) to 42.6 dB(A)) at both organizations significantly reduced intelligible speech distraction. Short-term mental health aspects were rated more positively, and level-adaptive sound masking also reduced the frequency with which people put on radio or headphones to cope with noise.”

Lisanne Bergefurt, Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek, and Theo Arentze. 2024. “Level-Adaptive Sound Masking in the Open-Plan Office: How Does It Influence Noise Distraction, Coping, and Mental Health?” Applied Acoustics, vol. 217, 109845, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2023.109845