The Others Are Too Loud! Children’s Experiences and Thoughts Related to Voice, Noise, and Communication in Nordic Preschools

Abstract

Background High noise levels affect hearing, voice use, and communication. Several studies have reported high noise levels in preschools and impaired voice quality in children. Noise and poor listening conditions impair speech comprehension in children more than in adults and even more for children with hearing or language impairment, attention deficits, or another first language. Aim The aim of this study was to explore how children in Finland, Sweden, and Iceland describe the preschool environment in relation to noise, voice, and verbal communication; what were their experiences, knowledge and ideas in relation to voice, noise, and communication. Children’s awareness of effects of noise, reactions, and coping strategies were also studied. In addition, country and gender differences were analyzed. Methods Eighteen Icelandic, 14 Finnish, and 16 Swedish children were interviewed using a common interview-guide. Swedish and Finnish children were interviewed in focus groups and Icelandic children individually. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically by the native speaker. The interviews were translated to English to be re-analyzed for inter-judge reliability of identified themes. Inter-judge reliability was calculated using percentage absolute agreement. Results The interviews resulted in 1052 utterances, 471 from focus groups, and 581 from individual interviews. Three themes were identified, Experiences, Environment , and Strategies with two to three subcategories. Inter-judge agreement for the themes was excellent, 92–98%. Experiences occurred in 55% of the utterances. The subcategories were bodily and emotional experiences and experiences of hearing and being heard. Environment occurred in 20% of the utterances, with subcategories indoor vs. outdoor and noise. Strategies was found in 15%, with subcategories games and problem oriented actions. The only significant difference between the countries was for the theme Strategies where the Swedish children produced more utterances than the Finnish. No gender differences were found. Conclusion Children are aware of high noise levels and mainly blame other children for making noise and shouting. They describe reactions and strategies related to noise like impaired communication and effects on hearing but are less aware of effects on voice. Expressed thoughts were similar across countries. No gender differences were found.

Student’s Self-Reported Experience of Soundscape: The Link between Noise, Psychological and Physical Well-Being

“…All noise types taken into account, 37% of the students report having a negative affective reaction to noise, and 55% of them feel the noise in their body. These results corroborate past findings on emotional and physical disturbance of noise in students [ 13 , 17 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 43 , 45 , 47 ]. Past research has shown body sensations to be a significant part of children’s reactions to noise [ 17 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…These results corroborate past findings on emotional and physical disturbance of noise in students [ 13 , 17 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 43 , 45 , 47 ]. Past research has shown body sensations to be a significant part of children’s reactions to noise [ 17 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. However, to our knowledge, our study is the first study on noise perception to present a comprehensive body map of where students report feeling different types of noises, unsurprisingly with the head, especially the ears and the forehead being reported, but also, the heart, and stomach area, and, for Scraping and screeching sounds, the arms and legs.…”

“…Similar to mind-wandering, this strategy interferes with academic tasks but relieves the students from the negative effects caused by noise. Overall, students have not been taught how to properly cope with noise and lack strategies to do so, yet they were still able to come up with strategies such as covering their ears and moving away from the noise [ 23 , 24 , 43 , 44 ].…”

Exploring the role of soundscape in restorative experience: A pilot study from children’s perspective

“…Past studies have broadly shown a restorative advantage for natural environments as opposed to built environments ( Dzhambov et al, 2021 ), but what is less certain are the specific attributes that make the environment restorative for children. Specifically, we assessed the dimension of sound appeal as contributing to restorative potential as children’s awareness and preference for environment sound strongly differ from those of adults ( McAllister et al, 2019 ).…”

Voice Disorder Prevalence and Vocal Health Characteristics in Children

“…Children participate in numerous social, athletic, extracurricular, and academic activities, 34 many of which are associated with specific vocal demands. 35 Additionally, children often phonate in suboptimal acoustic environments, such as playgrounds and c rowded or noisy rooms, 36,37 and may not carefully regulate vocal volume or behavior in general. 38 Normative data regarding voice use patterns and symptoms in children are needed to identify risk factors for dysphonia.…”