Tag: Soundproofing Products

Rubber Safety Coatings Can Help Improve Environment and Health
Rubber coatings are in use extensively all over the world for the past 7 decades for industrial applications and in the sports industry. The anti-skid feature of rubber was perhaps the top reason for it being chosen, however there are also other wonderful features to mention. One feature that is not well known is its ability to reduce noise in any space where it is installed. For example, if you have a garage, patio, basement, pool deck, lanai, corridor, changing room and walkway, the list is long, noise of echo and foot fall will be nearly completely diminished.
Rubber and Concrete
Rubber safety coatings are ideal for external applications i.e. pool decks, walkways, driveways, entryways, or any area found to be cracking, spalding, chipping and would require re-pouring of concrete because the mixture of rubber & rock can repair any of the cracked concrete. Hairline cracks will be hidden since the rubber surface will conceal them. Rubber safety coatings are even applied over dirt. Mixture of rubber & rock are applied over rammed rock to form a hard substrate and then the stained rubber is poured over the foundation. This lessens the necessity pouring concrete to enlarge a deck, patio, walkway or garden area.
Safer Recycling
Black or Colored rubber granules are blended with a stable, adaptable resin and troweled over your present surface to provide an appealing, poured-in-place look. The surface is coated with a primer of a resin mixture, and the rubber is blended with the resin onsite and applied with a trowel over the contour of your surface. It can also be applied on vertical surfaces. Being a high quality rubber, like a car tyre, the surface will last very long. Recycled rubber tyres are processed by high tech machines cryogenically breaking down the rubber and isolating the rubber from the steel belting. This rubber is sold to surfacing companies who use it with asphalt for paving roads and highways. Burning the tyres would have caused such toxic air pollution that it is not recommended. Chopping them is not the safest solution either because of the steel belting. This new technology is the answer to the problem. No more health hazards due to air pollution and good use made of the end product.
Other Benefits
Another benefit related to health from rubber surfaces and safety coatings is avoiding of injury from slip/fall accidents. Because of the springy nature of rubber, the impact of fall is buffered and there is less probability to get hurt. Water parks around the world have installed surfaces and safety coatings of rubber to reduce injuries and this has even given them insurance rebates because of the reduction in complaints made.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
When you suffer from tinnitus you seem to hear some kind of hissing sound when no external sound is present. There are increasing cases of tinnitus in humans and tinnitus induced by noise seems to be getting reported widely, due to excessive exposure to iPods and other sound systems related to music. There is a lack of awareness about the dangers of hearing loss and tinnitus induced by noise.
Beware of Loud Noise
You can get proof of this easily. Just go to the nearest movie theatre and you can feel the noise decibels enter your entire body. The audio levels seem to be so unnecessarily loud that it is almost noise pollution! Some people wear ear plugs when they go to movies. Most people do not seem to have an issue with the volume. Many concert goers are seen standing close to the speakers! They are unaware that being in close proximity to such devices can lead to hearing loss or tinnitus. Organizers of such events can do a service to customers by warning them against tinnitus and temporary or permanent loss of hearing due to exposure to loud noise.
Treatment for Tinnitus
Tinnitus is incurable. Most insurance companies do not consider tinnitus to be a debilitating condition and hence will not cover your medical expenses or income loss due to chronic suffering. However, tinnitus can become severe for many that they have to get medical attention. It takes a long time for anyone to get relief from tinnitus symptoms. Relief can be an expensive, anywhere from $100/month to $2,500.00. Continuous research is on both in the scientific and medical fields for a cure. Many people may have to suffer from tinnitus before a permanent cure can be found.
Creating Awareness
But, the most important question is why we are not doing more to create awareness about tinnitus induced by noise. We call ourselves a socially responsible society. We label cigarettes, movies, games, age-appropriate toys, trans fat products, and dangerous goods. It may be a good idea to persuade manufacturers to stick warning labels on their audio systems and request the event producers to give specific warnings at their noisy events. These warning notices could read, “Exposure to loud noise can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing and tinnitus.”
Conclusion
It is not clear as of now, how long the insurance companies, government officials, manufacturers, and event producers will try to ignore this menacing worldwide epidemic. It is also not clear how long it will take the affected millions to organize and force the corporates to put warning labels on their loud noisy products. The insurance companies have to accept tinnitus as a medical problem.

Need for Controlling Noise and Vibration Dampening in Industrial Equipment
Industrial equipment when they are in operation can produce considerable amounts of vibration. Though it is not possible to eliminate these vibrations, they have to be dampened or controlled and if not done it can lead to several problems for the life and performance of the equipment.
Why Vibration Dampening
Without sufficient vibration dampening, the wear and tear of every component is accelerated leading to early failure of machine parts. The steady vibrational motion creates cyclical stress. These repetitive stresses add up and result in machinery failure. Vibrations cause bottlenecks due to machine maintenance and excessive downtime. Also, vibration dampening protects workers from high noise levels. As per factory regulations, average noise level in an eight-hour shift, must be kept within stipulated limits and vibration control helps to achieve this.
Methods of Vibration Control
One method uses leveling pads for maintaining machine balance. Like washing machines, industrial equipment also will begin to vibrate when it is out of balance, causing noise and damage. This method is cheaper and easier to level uneven floors or machinery. Vibration pads are also used for vibration control because they absorb and muffle vibrations thereby reducing noise.
Another technique of vibration control is installation of vibration mounts. Similar to shock absorbers in automobiles, vibration mounts create a pneumatic or mechanical dampening effect to nullify vibrations by generating a force equal and opposite to the vibration. A mechanical vibration mount usually consists of a high-tension spring similar a car’s shock absorbers. Pneumatic devices use either compressed air or liquid to cancel out shock by either emptying or filling a cylinder support.
There is a third method available when vibration cannot be reduced by vibration mount or pad. Injection moldable, thermoplastic materials of high density are also an excellent way to provide vibration dampening solutions. Having high mass, these materials are custom made to the correct density needed for the application, by component manufacturers who produce and assemble the correct size, mass and shape of balance-weight required. These materials can be made to density of 11 g/cc and can be cast into complex geometries, giving freedom to part makers to design the perfect counter balance, that is, the vibration control part they require. Moreover by their very nature these high density materials are good sound dampeners, adding value by reducing equipment noise as well.
Conclusion
The various solutions available for dampening vibration and leveling industrial equipment provide a number of ways to prevent any unwanted wear and tear of equipment or any risk to worker as even vibrations and sound of low-levels can be harmful to man and machine. Vibration control reduces the ambient sound level in machinery and can help in cutting down the maximum sound level existing. Hence, effective control of vibration is a sensible investment both for worker safety and machine performance.

Knowing When to Replace an Anti-Vibration Pad
Based on the application, changing an anti-vibration pad can conserve machinery and, in certain cases, just provide more benefit than persisting with a pad that has outlived its utility. These pads generally are very long-lasting, even for years but, for some applications, they are likely to wear out quicker than others. Recognizing the signs as to when an anti-vibration pad needs replacement can save you quite some amount of money.
In Heavy Machinery
Heavy machinery causes damages to itself often due to the high level of vibrations produced by the large gasoline engines and diesel engines. Power plants also suffer damages to their delicate parts if the anti-vibration pad is not properly maintained. In farm equipment, industrial equipment and automotive equipment the signs of wear out of anti-vibration pads can result in parts wearing out quicker and operation becoming noisy. Pads and other components must be inspected at regular intervals to make sure that they are in good shape and that they need not be replaced.
In Cars
Anti-vibration pads are used in many different areas in the vehicle. They are used in the door frames, in the suspension and in the engine. In an automobile, the reason for a squeak that is disturbing a customer or other nuisance problem may be caused by a non-functioning anti-vibration pad and your job will be to find which one is causing this problem and replacing the same would solve the issue. Rubber manufacturers produce several different rubber components that can be used for repairing these kinds of problems. When these pads become worn out some systems of the car may get damaged and, of course, the drive may simply be uncomfortable.
Quality Pads
All anti-vibration pads are not of same quality. When you buy these products for the replacement of worn-out ones or for a new equipment being made, make sure that the manufacturer of that product is a reputed one and he will guarantee that they are made out of materials that will last. Some of the rubber materials are designed to withstand exposure to specific chemicals and some others to provide high insulation against vibration, helping the machinery last longer than if some other materials were used.
Conclusion
Regular inspection of the anti-vibration pad on any machinery that generates much energy and shakes badly should be a part of the maintenance program. Especially if it is exposed to harmful chemicals that degenerate materials like rubber. This will make certain that very expensive components are not damaged due to excessive vibration and can make sure that the equipment lasts much longer and provides more dependable and consistent service to the industry and business that depend on it.

Installing Soundproof Windows in Coffee Shops
Many people are attracted to the charm holding meetings and doing official work in coffee shops because they provide a quiet and conducive atmosphere that allows them to focus. For cafes situated in high traffic centers, owners of coffee shop should install soundproof windows to shut out outside noise and provide an atmosphere to their customers that is work-friendly so that they can complete their planned activities.
Coffee Shops Work Area for Writers
Using cafés to carryout official work is not a new idea. Every Harry Potter reader knows that J.K. Rowling, the author, wrote the main sections of the book series sitting in coffee shops. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway too wrote few of their literary creations in Parisian cafes. Not just that, cafes doubled as a place for thinkers during the French Revolution for discussing politics and philosophy among other topics.
Incentives of Coffee Shop
Most coffee shops have a comfortable and cozy ambience with the inviting aroma of roasted coffee, the pleasing yellow lights, the relaxing couches, and varieties of pastries, and other food items found there. Some of them also have free wireless access to internet for their customers, which greatly enhances the convenience of doing their official working from their coffee shops.
Other Advantages
As re-envisaged by Howard Schultz, who is Starbucks Chairman and CEO, coffee shops have really become a “third space” today somewhere between home and office and, a place where you can relax or do your work away from distractions of home or office. Cafes provide a balance between the working pressure of office and the comfort of your home since customers are able to spend many hours in cafes, but still experience the office pressure for finishing the task in time before the coffee shop closes just like in an office. For some people, this will help improve productivity.
Soundproofing Coffee Shops
Apart from offering a cozy ambience, owners of coffee shop should also make certain that noise is kept out by soundproofing windows so that the space becomes more suitable for working. This is particularly necessary if the place is located in very busy traffic centers like business districts and towns where pollution from cars, pedestrians, music and sirens, and other types of noises, are prevalent. Coffee shop owners have to install soundproof windows that are manufactured from multilayered laminated glass so as to remove up to 95% of noise. They should also ensure that when the windows are installed, Krypton and Argon gases are filled between the dead air space and glass to prevent external sound vibrations from getting in. For their own convenience, they may select a manufacturer who can install the windows on the existing ones; so that, alterations to the existing windows and building permits will be unnecessary.

Hyperacusis and Social Issues

Hyperacusis is a condition where one develops an unusual sensitivity to daily noises and sounds. They may also have sensitivity to high-frequency sounds. It is an acute condition which is connected with tinnitus or ringing sounds in the ear. Young and old, who have both a hearing loss and normal hearing, may suffer from hyperacusis.

How is Hyperacusis Developed?

One develops this condition slowly, maybe due to head injuries. Some research has also proved that some dysfunction in the brain chemistry due to poor consumption of some chemicals causes hyperacusis. At times drugs, job related noise exposure, or surgeries of the ear, brain and any other related surgery may cause hyperacusis.

Problems due to Hyperacusis

A person who suffers from hyperacusis generally experiences pain in the inner ear or a feeling of fullness, such as pressure, in the ears. Due to this such people have a low threshold to sound, and find it hard for taking part in many social activities. They may actually consider themselves unfit socially, by not being able to bear the sounds that are connected with social activities.

Sufferers of hyperacusis generally end up with tinnitus (ringing sounds in the ears). At times they may also find difficulty in sleeping due to the stress level they suffer from. Phonophobia also causes hyperacusis. Persons having phonophobia develop a fear of exposure to some sounds thinking that their ear will be damaged by the sounds.

Diagnosis

Hyperacusis can be best diagnosed via hearing tests that detect sound sensitivity. Also otolaryngologists, who are ear, nose, and throat physicians, are well-versed to make a medical assessment of hyperacusis.

Treatment

The best treatment is via in-depth discussion of the tests performed for diagnosing hyperacusis, explanation of the physiology and anatomy of hearing mechanism and how it is connected with hyperacusis helps control hyperacusis. The focus of this therapy is enlightening the patient on hyperacusis, and to lessen their concerns and fears about it. Few patients may be advised Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), which is a therapy that is habituation-oriented.

With TRT, the reactions of the patient to hyper acusis are lessened by using sound therapy. With the help of sound therapy, the sensitivity of the patient to sounds is reduced, helping them view sound more positively. TRT is generally a combination of sound therapy and counseling where the patient is exposed to low-level sound for a few hours daily.

Alternative Treatments

Then there are alternative treatments where people are advised to take minerals like zinc, magnesium, or herbal preparations like B vitamins, Ginkgo biloba, or homeopathic remedies for helping cure hyperacusis. Treatment varies with the physician and the patient.