Sound Masking In The Busy Office

It is noted that about 50 million Americans do their job in open plan offices. Cubicles usually make better use of space and improve communication flow, but they are an acoustic challenge.

Conventional walls are being replaced by modular workstations, as more workers are using the same working space, and everyone is seated in close proximity to one another. You will also see, though, that modern building methods, along with absorptive actions, and quiet machines, have decreased the ambient level of office noise, reducing the volume considerably.

Sound masking, which is also known as ‘white noise’, has been quite a successful solution. A system for sound masking contains speakers engineered to produce background noise throughout a facility. The humming sound that it produces is generally compared to the sound of gently blowing air.

The main benefit of sound masking includes reduced conversational distractions and a normally more relaxed working atmosphere. The sound masking system can be easily installed in new or existing facilities of any dimension, providing an efficient way of tackling acoustic troubles at small cost and without serious modification.

An example of sound masking that you might be very familiar with occurs in your home on a regular basis. Consider the situation where you are in the kitchen doing dishes, and a person in an adjacent room speaks to you. You will recognize a voice, but probably be unable to make out the actual words, due to the sound level of running water.

At this point, we should discuss the definition of a “noise floor”. This term is used by sound engineers to describe the ambient sound level in your environment. If it is too high, you might be annoyed by the “background noise”. Conversely, if it is too low, typical sounds such as people talking in the distance might become a nuisance.

Privacy can be achieved via masking, which establishes a noise level sufficient to hide intrusive noises, but sufficiently low so as not to be bothersome, usually in the range of 42-48 dBA. Thus these systems can successfully drown out irritating sounds while not being disruptive themselves.

Conventional walls are being replaced by modular workstations, as more workers are using the same working space, and everyone is seated in close proximity to one another. You will also see, though, that modern building methods, along with absorptive actions, and quiet machines, have decreased the ambient level of office noise, reducing the volume considerably. The main benefit of sound masking includes reduced conversational distractions and a normally more relaxed working atmosphere. Through masking privacy can be achieved, which establishes a noise level sufficient to hide intrusive noises, but sufficiently low so as not to be bothersome, usually in the range of 42-48 dBA.

- Bruce Davidson