r/Acoustics

Hello everyone,

Im currently a freelance live sound engineer, I love the job when im designing PA systems, measuring and tuning them on site and i also enjoy the RF associated roles. However there are downsides to the work, namely the hours and the physical labours effect on my back and constantly working away. Im considering a side step into the world of acoustics, I have been looking at applying for a IOA diploma in Acoustics and Noise Control and possibly a Masters in the Acoustics field after that. My question is that given my qualifications (BSc in Studio & Live music production and 10 years experience as a sound engineer) what is my likelihood to be accepted into the diploma or masters course? Has anyone else entered the Acoustics industry via a similar route? Would this actually result in work in the industry or is it like many industries where it is exceedingly hard to enter without industry contacts?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

My wife and I had been searching for a while when we finally found a house we really liked. I’m from the city, and we were excited to leave the noise and craziness behind and move somewhere quieter. When we viewed the house, it was quiet and we didn’t hear the neighbor’s TV at all.

After we moved in, the first thing we noticed was the TV coming through our shared wall. I didn’t think much of it at first, but it kept playing all night, even with our white noise machines and fan on. We can hear it in the living room, both upstairs bedrooms, and a little in the basement. We can even hear it over our own TV.

The next morning, we rang the neighbor’s bell and left a polite note asking them to lower it. We waited, then noticed the note was gone, but the sound hadn’t changed and no one had responded. We panicked a bit. We were exhausted, had just moved, and didn’t know what to do. We called the non-emergency line for advice because we were stressed and didn’t feel we were getting a direct answer from the landlord about whether anything could be done. At that point, we didn’t know the TV was mounted on the other side of our shared wall. This was our first big move into a home like this.

An officer came by and said the TV itself didn’t seem unusually loud. He thought the old wall and limited insulation could be letting the sound carry. He also said decorative wood panels probably wouldn’t fix it.

During the walkthrough after we moved in, while we were signing the final papers, the landlord told us the TV was mounted directly on the other side of our shared wall. We hadn’t been told that before. We had asked how the neighbors were and were told they were nice. We also asked whether the landlord had dealt with this while living here, but didn’t feel we got a clear answer.

During that walkthrough, the landlord told us the neighbor has a disability, has two children in elementary school, and stays home watching TV while her husband works. He later texted her about the noise, but she hasn’t responded. We’ve also heard her yelling and swearing at the kids through the wall. It was muffled, so we couldn’t tell what was happening. I don’t want to judge her or assume anything, but this makes us nervous about approaching her. We haven’t met, and we worry her only impression of us may be that we left a note and called the police to check the noise.

The landlord’s response has felt a bit dismissive. He said this is just how older attached houses are and suggested more white noise or panels. He also mentioned using a noise machine in a previous home. It feels unfair to expect us to run a noise machine all day or buy things to mask the sound, especially since we weren’t told before signing the lease that the TV was mounted on the other side of our shared wall. We only learned that during the walkthrough after we moved in.

We’ve already put down a rug, moved in most of our furniture, set up our own TV, and have a decent white noise machine. We can still hear the neighbor’s TV throughout the house. I used a phone app to measure the sound and got readings around 40 to 50 dB, but I know a phone isn’t a reliable sound meter.

The noise is affecting our sleep and making it hard to relax at home. We both have ADHD, and I’ll be working from home, so focusing is a concern too. We’re starting to feel overwhelmed and worry about how much this is affecting our mental health. We honestly don’t know what to do next. We want to make the house work and aren’t looking to move. We just want help finding a practical solution.

Has anyone dealt with TV noise traveling through an old shared wall? What actually helped? Is an acoustic contractor or sound transmission assessment the right next step? Are there realistic fixes the landlord could look into, like addressing the TV mount or improving the wall? And how would you approach the neighbor without making things awkward?

We have a detached 19x19 garage that is about 15ft away from our main living area and about 20-25ft away from any walls from our neighbors.

The garage has a concrete floor and a single layer of drywall up in its walls. The ceiling is currently open, and we have a whirlybird exhaust vent fan at the top and several soffit intake vents. We have a standard metal 2 car garage rolling door.

We will be closing off the ceiling and putting in insulation so the soffit vents and exhaust vents will be closed off from the main garage area. The existing walls however are not insulated, so at the end of it all only the ceiling will have insulation.

Also worth noting we will also be putting in a minisplit AC so hopefully that’s enough for in room ventilation.

I know actual soundproofing will be very very expensive and hard to do, but my goal is to simply reduce the sound as much as I can so that it is not noticeable or barely noticeable to my main home and my neighbors when they are inside their homes. I’m hoping that treating our house exterior garage will make the traveling sound bearable.

What are some ways to achieve this? Some ideas I had were:

- add another layer of 5/8 drywall directly ontop of the existing 5/8 drywall.

- attach the ceiling drywall to hat channels instead of directly onto joist

- use accoustic caulk to seal all corners of the room

- change our the garage door seal with a fresh new rubber garage door gasket

- put insulation panels in the empty space of the garage door

- put the drum set on a platform? Will this do anything?

I’m trying to avoid building the room within a room thing and just treat the space so that it’s tolerable when standing 20ft away from the garage when everything is closed.

Any thoughts or tips appreciated.

Title. I want to make a small outdoor recording studio so I can make YouTube videos and speak at full volume without bothering my family. However my understanding is that sound can sort of bend around walls so should I soundproof the ceiling too in order to prevent the sound from escaping through the top and then bending back down?