Perception of the acoustic environment during COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly modified the behavior of societies. The application of isolation measures

during the crisis resulted in changes in the acoustic environment. The aim of this work was to characterize the per- ception of the acoustic environment during the COVID-19 lockdown of people residing in Argentina in 2020. A

descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was carried out. A virtual survey was conducted from April 14 to 26, 2020, and was answered mainly by social network users. During this period, Argentina was in a strict lockdown. The

sample was finally composed of 1371 people between 18 and 79 years old. It was observed that most of the partici- pants preferred the new acoustic environment. Mainly in the larger cities, before the isolation, mechanical sounds

predominated, accompanied by the perception of irritation. Confinement brought a decrease in mechanical sounds and an increase in biological sounds, associated with feelings of tranquility and happiness. The time window opened by the lockdown offered an interesting scenario to assess the effect of anthropogenic noise pollution on the urban

environment. This result offers a subjective approach, which contributes to understanding the link between individu- als and communities with the environment. VC 2021 Acoustical Society of America.

https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0005131 (Received 28 December 2020; revised 10 May 2021; accepted 12 May 2021; published online 4 June 2021) [Editor: Charles C. Church]