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. 2021 Mar 25;18(7):3392.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073392.

Monitoring Sound and Its Perception during the Lockdown and De-Escalation of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish Study

María Dolores Redel-Macías  1 , Pilar Aparicio-Martinez  2 , Sara Pinzi  3 , Pedro Arezes  4 , Antonio José Cubero-Atienza  1
Affiliations

Monitoring Sound and Its Perception during the Lockdown and De-Escalation of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish Study

María Dolores Redel-Macías et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The lockdown measures in Spain due to the SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic from 13 March to 21 June 2020 had extensive social and environmental implications. This study aims to understand how the measures of lockdown have influenced noise levels, as well as people's perception of sound quality before and after lockdown, including de-escalation. For this purpose, an online survey was carried out. Moreover, the noise linked to the Global Positioning System (GPS) position of each individual respondent was recorded aiming to correlate the noise level with the result of the survey. An average reduction of over 30 dB was observed compared with the sound pressure level before lockdown. Furthermore, it was found that the loudness parameter, together with the overall level, increased as the country started relaxing restrictions. Additionally, results showed that the perception of noise quality changed depending on the phase of de-escalation (p < 0.01), the type of property (p < 0.05), and the outside noise (p < 0.01). Moreover, noise annoyance was determined considering age (p < 0.01), gender (p < 0.05), type of property (p < 0.001), and home refurbishment (p < 0.05). It may be concluded that the most important measure to decrease noise levels is the reduction of traffic noise, through using eco-friendly public transportation or bicycles and limiting nightlife hours.

Keywords: COVID-19; noise; sound quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phases of de-escalation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
GPS positions of the results in Spain: (a) purple for lockdown, grey for phase 0, blue for phase 1, yellow for phase 2 and red for phase 3; (b) detail of results for questionnaires in Córdoba: purple for lockdown, grey for phase 0, blue for phase 1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Long-term Sound Pressure Level (SPL) registered by Interlight S.L. Ld: SPL for day period; Le: SPL for evening period; Ln: SPL for night period.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplot of the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) during de-escalation in Ronda Marrubial Córdoba.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Overall noise and (b) Loudness during lockdown and de-escalation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Bubble map of loudness during outbreak: (a) lockdown; (b) phase 0; (c) phase 1; (d) phase 2.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Bubble map of Loudness during outbreak: light red—lockdown; light green—phase 0; green—phase 1; blue—phase 2; red—phase 3.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Frequencies regarding the description of the noise before lockdown.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Frequencies regarding the description of the noise during lockdown.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Sound quality before and during lockdown.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Sound quality during lockdown, phase 0 and phase 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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