Acoustics, sound, noise. All impact our lives every day. Yet it is not a subject that is often discussed. Welcome to "A sound effect on people" a podcast that explores how we are affected by sound. We explore how while poor acoustics can be harmful, a room with good acoustics can help you learn, work productively, and even heal.

Our hearing is the one sense that we can't turn off yet it is tuned for the outdoor environments that we evolved in. But with many of us now spending up to 80% of our time indoors we struggle when excessive noise and reverberant echo trigger our ancient fight or flight response. The physiological response to constant loud noise causes fatigue, stress and elevated heart rates, quite the opposite of what is needed for successful healing or productive work.

Environments need to be acoustically treated no matter how large or small they are. In this episode we let you to hear the benefits of an acoustically treated small office environment. We are joined by Rob McNamee from Green TV Broadcaster and Communications Agency as he discusses the difficulties within their office environment due to noise when they are trying to engage in collaborative work, conferences and even an activity as simple as a phone call – quoting “I can’t hear myself think”. Noise is a sound, normally associated with one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance. We have invited Daphne the dog to show the difference in an acoustically treated sound environment in comparison to the same environment that hasn’t been acoustically treated.

Why not listen to the difference yourself?