New soundscape after the Covid-19 lockdown

Abstract

We present a pilot study on the perception of noise and noise annoyance from various environmental sources after the COVID-19 lockdown in Serbia. We used an online platform to conduct an anonymous survey on about 190 respondents aged 15 to 75 years from all over the country. After the lockdown, there was a significant increase in the proportion of respondents who were highly annoyed by noise from the typical environmental sources, such as road traffic, air traffic, industrial facilities, and construction works on the streets, compared to the time during the lockdown. At the same time, the proportion of respondents who were highly annoyed by the sirens of ambulance vehicles decreased significantly. However, the most annoying environmental sound during and after the lockdown was that emitted by the ambulance vehicles, which respondents described as "unpleasant", "horrifying" and "irritating". The perception of the sounds of nature and church bells dropped significantly after the lockdown, whereas the perception of noise from the neighbors, household members, and indoor sources remained the same. In summary, after the lockdown, respondents perceive the new soundscape as louder, burdened with a cacophony of noises, and subsequently more annoying.