Echo formation at home can be seen in homes that have a minimalist layout and have a lot of free space. The absence of any insulation in the building where the house is located and on the walls of the house can also cause echo in the house.

What is Echo?

Echo is a sound that is formed by the reflection of sound waves while they are moving freely, hitting any surface and not being absorbed by the surface, and whose level increases gradually as a result of the superposition of irregular sound waves.

Since the echoes occurring in nature can be used as a measure of distance, it is useful in obtaining data such as the locations of fish shoals, deep areas of the oceans and the height of planes. However, echo formation can be a disturbing factor at home or in closed areas where long time is spent.

Is Echo Harmful to Health?

Its effects on health can be evaluated as negative. Echo formation, which causes a decrease in quality of life and work performance, can cause the living environment to become an unpleasant place. When echoing occurs at home for a long time and with high frequency, it can cause attention deficits, hearing problems and losses in people living in the environment. It is stated in the occupational health and safety rules that working in places with continuous and loud noise is harmful to health.

How to Prevent Echo?

Insulation applications are generally used to prevent echo sound. Environmental conditions must also be adapted to prevent echo formation. In order to prevent echo formation, the following factors can be considered:

• Choosing the right places for items,
• Correctly and harmoniously associating circulation areas with main areas and determining resonance harmony,
• Making sure that the correct materials and paints are used in insulation areas such as floors, walls and ceilings,
• Choosing the right sound-absorbing materials and applying them to the right points of the environment,
• Preventing external noise and, if possible, removing noise sources,
• Determining the resonance characteristic of the space,
• Determining the sound frequency suitable for the environment and ensuring that the ambient sounds do not exceed this frequency,
• After all these factors are met, determining the ambient form in a way that can provide a smooth sound distribution is among the important factors in preventing echo formation.

Which Materials Are Used in Prevention of Echo?

In order to prevent echo, it is the definitive solution to choose insulation materials suitable for the needs of the environment and apply insulation. Insulation allows the sound quality to be increased, as it allows the absorption of most of the sound waves that are freely spread and not absorbed into the environment.

Before applying acoustic or absorber panels, the acoustic volume of the environment should be calculated and how much insulation material can be needed. Finally, suitable places for absorber panels should be determined and panels should be applied to these places. In order to make all these calculations correctly, acoustic consultancy service can be used.

After determining the location of the acoustic equipment, firstly a layer of drywall is passed to the place to be built. Special adhesives used for insulation are applied to the back of the insulation material and the insulation material is adhered to the plasterboard without losing time. The floor to be insulated must be prepared in a flat and clean manner. Insulation processes on uneven floors do not take long. After the selected insulation material is adhered, another layer of drywall should be applied to cover the insulation material completely.

The following materials can be used to prevent echo formation at home:

• Table Seperator,
• Acoustic Screens,
• Wooden Panels,
• Floating and Pendent Panels,
• Baffle,
• Fabric Covered Panels,
• Sound Stop Acoustic Sponges,
• Sound Stop Basotect Sponges,
• Colorful Techno Touch Sponges.

After the correct use of these materials, not only the formation of echo is prevented, but also the sound from going outside or the noise outside is prevented from coming into the area.