Scientists say that the most annoying noise nuisance is the banging and crashing of neighbours.

There’s a special kind of irritation reserved for when the flat upstairs decides that 2 a.m. is a good time to start a bouncy home workout.

Scientists have even found that noise from your neighbors is more irritating than any other audible nuisance.

That’s because they’re generally short-lived “impact noises,” such as feet stomping and falling objects, and their spontaneity makes them more irritating.

The National Research Council of Canada researchers also claim that these types of noises can affect sleep and lead to heart disease.

For their study, researchers in Canada, Korea and Germany created a living room-like situation and recorded the sound of falling objects and people walking. Study participants were then exposed to the sounds using speakers, headphones, and virtual reality headsets, and their level of irritation reported

The government department conducted experiments to investigate the effect of different types of urban noise nuisance on building occupants.

With the increased population density of urban areas in recent decades and the rise of home working in the early 2020s, it is believed that the problem will only get worse in the future if no action is taken.

According to Churchill Home Insurance, 450,000 noise complaints were made to councils across Britain in the last financial year, which equates to one every 70 seconds.

This is 10 percent more than before the 2019 to 2020 pandemic — an increase of nearly 70,000 complaints in two years.

According to Churchill Home Insurance, 450,000 noise complaints were made to councils across Britain in the last financial year, which equates to one every 70 seconds (stock image)

For their study, researchers in Canada, Korea and Germany created a living room-like situation and recorded the sound of falling objects and people walking.

Study participants were then exposed to the sounds using speakers, headphones, and virtual reality headsets, and their level of irritation reported.

In their results, presented today at the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of Americait was revealed that participants found impact sounds more annoying than continuous sounds, such as music or speech.

Markus Mueller-Trapet, from the research group, said: ‘Prolonged exposure to such unwanted sounds could potentially lead to cardiovascular problems and sleep disturbances.’

Despite this, the researchers found that the thumping sound of people walking barefoot is not included in the engineering requirements for building construction.

They hope their results can inform architects and building developers and help them create more livable urban environments.

In addition, they support the introduction of a structure-borne sound requirement in the National Building Code of Canada.

An online listening test has been set up to add more evidence to their investigations, running from November 21 this year to March 31, 2023.

Moth wing texture can be used to create noise-reducing wallpaper

Go ahead and order that drum kit, because noise-cancelling wallpaper might not be that far off.

Scientists have found that when they mount small parts of moth wings on a hard surface, they can absorb up to 87 percent of incoming sound waves.

The University of Bristol research team initially found that the unique scales on moth wings absorb echolocation calls used by bats.

The sounds they absorb are all at a frequency too high for humans to hear, so more work is needed to lower the range of absorption that can be used practically.

But in the future, we may be able to replicate this noise-reducing wing texture on the outside of buildings to absorb traffic noise or reduce the weight of aircraft.

Read more here

A close-up view of a moth’s wing with a shell on the surface. These absorb echolocation calls used by bats to find prey, effectively hiding them from their predator