Noise-level reduction alone often fails to improve sonic environments perceived as unpleasant.

Evidence

Environmental sound often is considered simply a noise, but reducing the noise levels often does not provide improvement of the negative sensations that such a sound produces on the listeners. Noise mitigation in many cases is not sufficient to create a pleasant sonic environment. … The soundscape approach can solve in part the difficulties connected with the sonic environment evaluation and management. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 71

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the standard decibel-mitigation paradigm — pairs with the reader’s earlier notes on how engineered noise fixes miss experiential quality. — connects to: Park sound management must limit audibility, not just sound level. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 2284; Noise annoyance cannot be captured by physical sound parameters alone. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1441; Anti-noise strategies fail because they cannot restore listening connection to the land — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 21 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Reducing physical noise does not automatically improve perceived urban comfort #corroborates (0.95) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1047
• Noise annoyance cannot be captured by physical sound parameters alone. #corroborates (0.92) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1441
• Decibel-based annoyance measurement fails to capture urban sonic quality #corroborates (0.88) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 949
• Anti-noise strategies fail because they cannot restore listening connection to the land #expands (0.75) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 21
• Realistic noise reduction measures require soundscape recordings rather than pink noise. #expands (0.72) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1757