In 2016, a group of UK researchers conducted widespread surveys to better understand what drives productivity at the office.  The issue that 99% of surveyors complained disrupted their productivity was noise!  Apparently, the work environments and office parks that were intentionally built to encourage productivity, failed at considering surrounding noise disturbances.  Not only does noise interrupt an otherwise productive workday, noise pollution has massive consequences on our health.  

Unfortunately, the noise problem at the office has now followed us home.  Companies like Google, Twitter and countless others have made working from home a permanent solution.  While this is a dream for most and something to be celebrated, we now need to understand how our home environment is impacting us.

Not only do we know that noise affects productivity, but studies have shown that there are also direct links between noise and health.  Health issues that can arise due to noise pollution include high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and stress related illnesses with Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) being the most common and most discussed side effect.  Even major publications such as The New Yorker have recently voiced their concerns with headlines like “Is Noise Pollution the Next Big Public-Health Crisis?” 

For those shopping around for new homes, being informed on noise pollution in the neighborhood prior to buying can prevent a lot of these issues.  But how can we address noise pollution in our current homes?    Finding quiet greenspaces, meditating, creating community task forces to block major noise polluters are some of the solutions.  

A company called Tether Data has made fixing the noise pollution problem its main goal.  Most of the data to find quiet greenspaces and noise levels at any given location worldwide is not readily available.  Tether Data has combined (insert here) to make this data more accessible to consumers during the buying and renting process.