Quieting: A Practical Guide to Noise Control

This guide offers practical solutions for ordinary noise problems that a person is likely to meet. The book describes the ways in which sounds are generated, travel to the listener, and affect his hearing and well-being. Recommendations are given for controlling noise at the source and along its path of travel, and for protecting the listener. This guide instructs the reader by way of "Warning Sings" on how to determine whether he is being subjected in his environment to prolonged noise exposures that may prove hazardous to his hearing. Remedies are given for noise problems that a person is likely to find in his home, at work and at school, while traveling, and in the growth and development of his community. The remedies include noise prevention techniques and selection of quiet alternatives to existing noise sources. General principles for selecting quiet appliances are given. Ways of searching for the sources of noise and for determining the paths over which they travel to the listener are described. A detailed index is given for individual ways of looking for inherently quiet homes and travel accomodations are described. In a final chapter, there are suggestions for enlisting community help where large external sources of noise must be quieted, such as those arisseing from public utilities and public transportation.