The Sound Of Music Or Machines - Which Do You Prefer?

Sound plays a huge part in the life of every human being. The very space in which we live is transfused with sounds of all kinds - both natural (birdsong, wind, rain etc) and man-made (machines, music etc). It's not surprising therefore to learn that the human body is very receptive to sound and can be strongly affected by it.

Scientific study into the connections between humans and sound is a large subject and has spun off into many different areas. As an engineer fascinated by the properties of sound waves and knowing how they can help solve industrial cleaning problems, I recently read an article about how humans are affected by sound which I'd like to share with you today.

We all know instinctively from our own experiences that sound can have both a detrimental and beneficial effect upon the human brain and body. Recent studies have now proven this - and to a larger degree than most of us would have thought.

Excessively loud and unpleasant sounds can produce effects within each of us which are detrimental and potentially dangerous - from changing the heart rate to even destroying blood vessels - and if a human finds a sound irritating, they can readily experience a mood change, becoming irritable and losing focus on what they were previously engaged in.

Some neuroscientists recently conducted tests to find out which sounds were most irritating to humans and also which they found most pleasant. The results are fascinating!

Here at the top 10 most irritating sounds that were reported in the study:
Knife on a bottle
Fork on a glass
Chalk on a blackboard
Ruler on a bottle
Nails on a blackboard
Female scream
Power tool (anglegrinder)
Squaling brakes on a bicycle
Baby crying
Electric drill

Amongst the most pleasant sounds reported in the study were:
Applause
Baby laughing
Thunder
Water flowing

Read more here