Noise

Sound that may cause hearing damage or extra-aural effects with consequences for the health and safety of employees is referred to as noise. Extra-aural effects are effects not related to the ear.

Woman wearing hearing protection in cement works
© Uwe Völkner, Fotoagentur FOX

In addition to physiological effects, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, the psychic effects of noise are very important. They can manifest in an increased error rate or in lowered concentration and attentiveness. This results in accidents, work-related health risks, reduces the output, and ultimately causes additional costs for companies.

Despite significant noise reduction efforts, noise still is one of the essential stress factors at workstations. The work of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) specifically focuses on preventative measures reducing the noise already at its source. These include the development of design solutions for low-noise work equipment and systems.

Establishing European and international networks

Meanwhile, European and international networks have been established. The aim is to achieve lower noise emission of machines, improvement and simplification of measuring methods, and to develop procedures for determining the state of the art in the field of noise reduction.

On top of that, the further development of uniform concepts for handling the emission of machines regarding the specification of residual risks and the representation of the state of the art is coordinated – for example, through practical purchasing support for procurement officers, as well as by supporting market supervision.

Further information

Research Projects

Project numberF 2571 StatusOngoing Project Practice-oriented simplification of noise emission measurement methods – SP 3: Determination of sound power level by sound pressure scanning (LpScan)

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Research ongoing

Project numberF 2451 StatusCompleted Project Practical Approach for Sound Prediction on the Basis of Noise Emission Data

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Research completed

Project numberF 2450 StatusCompleted Project Practice-oriented simplification of noise emission measurement methods, Sub-project 2: Improving the practicability of the sound intensity method

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Research completed

Project numberF 2495 StatusCompleted Project Practice-oriented simplification of noise emission measurement methods - SP 4: Determining the local environmental correction for the emission sound pressure level according to DIN EN ISO 11202

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Research completed

Project numberF 2475 StatusCompleted Project Interactions of indoor climate, noise and lighting in workplaces

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Research completed

Project numberF 2439 StatusOngoing Project Effects of background noise on cognitive performance at work

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Research ongoing

Project numberF 2427 StatusCompleted Project Effects of the acoustical work environment on reading performance and well-being in employees

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Research completed

Project numberF 2443 StatusCompleted Project Headphones and Headsets for reducing background speech in office work

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Research completed

Project numberF 2438 StatusCompleted Project Noise emissions from machines - simple approximate determination of the environmental correction for the noise emission determination

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Research completed

Project numberF 2392 StatusCompleted Project Simulated room acoustics of exemplary offices

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Research completed

Project numberF 2391 StatusCompleted Project Interactive guidance for the measurement of physical agents within the scope of risk assessment

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Research completed

Project numberF 2347 StatusCompleted Project Simplification of noise emission measurement methods for the application in practice

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Research completed

Project numberF 2170 StatusCompleted Project Noise exposure of pupils

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Research completed

Project numberF 2161 StatusCompleted Project Auralization for office design

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Research completed

Project numberF 2060 StatusCompleted Project Noise emission classes of office computer systems

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Research completed

Publications

Search results

Interactions of indoor climate, noise and lighting in workplaces

Report 2024

The interactions between climate, noise and lighting in rooms of workplaces with regard to their influence on perception, …

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Machine Noise - Experimental Study of the Local Environmental Correction for the Emission Sound Pressure Level

Article 2024

Determining reliable noise emission values for machinery is key to successfully implement the Sell and Buy Quiet concept. ISO …

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Non-auditory effects of noise at work: an overview and perspective

Article 2024

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Report on the NOMAD pre-market surveillance exercise regarding noise information in sales literature of machines

baua: Fokus 2024

This report, prepared by the NOMAD Task Force and presented to the Machinery ADCO in June 2023, focuses on a pre-market …

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Sound power determination by intensity - Are field indicators and criteria in ISO 9614 meaningful?

Article 2024

The three parts of ISO 9614 describe methods for the determination of the sound power level of noise sources. According to these …

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Audio-visual induced mental workload: research methodology with disruptive soundscapes and electroencephalography

Article 2023

Attention is a cognitive function necessary at work. Attention needs to be continuously controlled by the employee to reach …

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Effects of noise on employees in a concentration task: some results and a critical view on the chosen performance test

Article 2023

In a laboratory study on the effects of noise on cognitive performance and wellbeing, a standardised concentrationperformance …

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Give me a break! Designing future virtual reality scenarios for acoustically demanding work environments

Article 2023

The future of the workplace will be permeated with technology that assists humans in processing complex digital work tasks. The …

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Health effects of railway-induced vibration combined with railway noise - A systematic review with exposure-effect curves

Article 2023

Background: The combined health impact of concurrent railway noise and railway vibration exposure is not yet well understood.

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Research proposal: psychoacoustic modeling of noise annoyance in the workplace - application of machine learning

Article 2023

In addition to noise detrimental to hearing, the non-auditory effects on cognitive performance and well-being are becoming more …

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