How Far Does Sound Travel?

[duratanium]

As I have been rendered deaf on one side for over 10 years now, I am hoping someone with 'normal' hearing might be able to answer this question reasonably.

On a relativly quiet night how far would one expect to hear the sound of a television?

I am in the country and my nearest neighbour is 100 metres or so away and there is a field of banana tree between us. Would you expect the sound of a standard tv to travel that far? I am not wanting to disturb my neighbours at all and any serious answers would be appreciated.

[londonthai]

unless the tv set is outside on the veranda/balcony, you shouldn't hear it more than a few metres from home. Even than 15-20 metres the most.

they are having a party there, winding you up or all of them are deafer than you are

[A_Traveller]

One thing none of us realise I think is just how far sound can travel in a quiet environment. I recall reading a Patrick O'Brian novel which related people hearing a naval battle on shore, miles away. I then did some research and found that this was true, and that prior to the 'noise pollution' traffic being a prime example, sound really did travel and still be heard.

Here I've noted that when I'm up-country late at night I can hear the last train {01:00} clearly leaving the station which is several miles away, because by then background noise of the modern technical civilisation has decreased to almost nil.

Regards

PS But if I ever find the vocal nocturnal myna bird {who's name is Tastes like Chicken}......

/edit typo //

Edited August 2, 2007 by A_Traveller

[farang prince]

How loud do you plan on playing the television? If it is normal sound and you have the windows open, the sound shouldn't project across the banana trees. If you plan to play it much louder than normal, then close the windows in the room. That should keep most of the sound inside the house.

Edited August 2, 2007 by farang prince

[pgs]

Depends also on the noise. Having been mostly deaf since birth, a person 6' away shouting on the 'wrong side' I probably won't hear. On the 'right side' I may not hear a siren - depends on the tone - but sometimes hear the beer being opened ;-). I lived for a year or so near a major train line in Sydney, the bedroom was about 20M from the track - rarely heard the trains. The game 'ker-plunk' being played downstairs on a tiled floor though ....

[UnknownPoster]

As I have been rendered deaf on one side for over 10 years now, I am hoping someone with 'normal' hearing might be able to answer this question reasonably.

On a relativly quiet night how far would one expect to hear the sound of a television?

I am in the country and my nearest neighbour is 100 metres or so away and there is a field of banana tree between us. Would you expect the sound of a standard tv to travel that far? I am not wanting to disturb my neighbours at all and any serious answers would be appreciated.

Depends on the acoustics.

I suggest wiring a small speaker to the TV output and placing it closer to your ears.

[chownah]

some tv's have a plug for earphones...ours does.

[duratanium]

Thanks for the replies.

I can hear the sound but the words are not always clear.

Seems to me that 100 metres is a long way for the sound of a tv to travel, especially with all those banana trees in the way even though the sound would be louder than normal but not amplified.

I am talking about 9 p.m. at night so it is quiet out in the country.

As for trains, I can hear them on the odd occasion when sleeping near a line but it is the bass that seems to travel furthest - to me.

Same goes for dogs barking. If I sit outside I can hear them well enough but dogs tend to have bass in their bark.

If there was an earphone socket on the tv I would use that later at night as it is my intention not to disturb the neighbours. That was my reason for asking in the first place - especially as for someone with bad hearing cannot always realise when they are talking loudly - so it is hard to gauge.

[EaglesGift]

One thing none of us realise I think is just how far sound can travel in a quiet environment. I recall reading a Patrick O'Brian novel which related people hearing a naval battle on shore, miles away. I then did some research and found that this was true, and that prior to the 'noise pollution' traffic being a prime example, sound really did travel and still be heard.

Here I've noted that when I'm up-country late at night I can hear the last train {01:00} clearly leaving the station which is several miles away, because by then background noise of the modern technical civilisation has decreased to almost nil.

Regards

PS But if I ever find the vocal nocturnal myna bird {who's name is Tastes like Chicken}......

/edit typo //

On the other hand, if your television is as loud as a good naval artillery shelling then you may want to think about turning the volume down a touch.

Edited August 3, 2007 by EaglesGift

[rak sa_ngop]

On the other hand, if your television is as loud as a good naval artillery shelling then you may want to think about turning the volume down a touch.

The sounds of Krakatoa exploding in 1883 were heard on the island of Rodriguez in the Indian ocean 2,968 miles away (and it apparently sounded like heavy guns).

[jbowman1993]

In answer to your question, no, they will not hear your TV. The instances that some posters described were exceptionally low frequency events (volcano, train, artillery, etc.) and the sound of those events carries much farther. If you don't have a subwoofer, they probably wont hear it at all, and if you do, keep it turned down if your worried.

Or, worst comes to worst, turn you tv on, then walk over, and ask them it they can hear anything, and if its a problem or not.

Best!