Abstract
This study examined indoor sound pressure level in selected rooms within a students’ housing neighbourhood in Nigeria; assessed the self-reported physical health symptoms of the occupants; and analysed the relationships between the two. Sound pressure level was measured in each of the randomly selected 22 rooms at 15-minute intervals between 7hours and 19hours daily through a period of four weeks each during the peaks of both dry and wet seasons. The measurement was done with Data Loggers placed at work plane at the centre of the rooms. Purposive sampling was used to select all the occupants in the selected rooms as well as the two adjoining rooms to fill a questionnaire. This amounted to 696 respondents. The questionnaire, elicited information regarding what each respondent regarded as the most prominent source of noise, their gender, age and complexion, as well as their self-reported physical health status. This study found that a significant 79% of the respondents identified indoor noise sources as the prominent contributor to the acoustic condition in the rooms; that the mean measured sound pressure levels in each room layout ranged from 27.75 dB to 56.29 dB; and that the self-reported physical health symptoms with significantly high percentage of observation were cold, fatigue, and headache. Correlation analysis showed that there was an inverse relationship between the sound pressure level in the rooms and the frequency of observance of cold, fatigue, and headache among the occupants. However, the relationship is more significant during the wet season, and more pronounced in female occupants than in male.
Highlights
Acoustic conditions in occupied spaces is one of the main aspects of Indoor Environmental Quality which most scholars agreed have great impact on occupants’ comfort and performance, and on occupants’ health
A review of studies in Indoor Environmental Quality revealed that the relationship between indoor acoustic conditions and occupants’ health seems not to have received adequate consideration (Frontczak and Wargocki, 2011)
The data was downloaded into Personal Computers (PC) using the sound data logger application software for analysis
Summary
Acoustic conditions in occupied spaces is one of the main aspects of Indoor Environmental Quality which most scholars agreed have great impact on occupants’ comfort and performance, and on occupants’ health. A review of studies in Indoor Environmental Quality revealed that the relationship between indoor acoustic conditions and occupants’ health seems not to have received adequate consideration (Frontczak and Wargocki, 2011). This is especially so in residences as well as other indoor environments outside the office space as evident in Aylward et al, (2005). Oguntoke et al, (2010) examined the relationship between Indoor Air Quality and occupants’ health; Turunen et al, (2014) concentrated on the effect of thermal environment and Indoor Air Quality and occupants’ health; and Apte et al, (2000) concentrated on an aspect of the Indoor Air Quality.
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