Photo credit: Kaique Rocha
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The Hearing Review recently reported on research about improving sound barriers to reduce traffic noise pollution. The article reported on original research done in China and published open access in the International Journal of Mechanical Systems Dynamics.
I’m a bit skeptical of research published in obscure journals, especially when I lack the engineering background to understand what’s being reported. However, I am writing about this research for one main reason: I have always wondered how effective the sound barriers lining the Los Angeles freeways are. Do the people living in apartments or homes on the other side of the freeway actually hear less road traffic noise? I’m thinking especially of those people whose windows or balconies I can see as I drive down the freeway.
So, engineers studying the design of sound barriers and measuring which designs work better seems like a good idea. I hope civil and acoustic engineers can cooperate on this type of research here in the United States.
