• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Akoio

Take control of your soundscape with Akoio.

  • Home
  • Akoio Guides
  • Blog

The Akoio Soundscape Journal — what I learned about sound and noise

October 21, 2022 by Leah Pruitt

The Akoio Soundscape Journal was designed as a free-to-use tool that helps us measure the impact of sound on our everyday lives. At Akoio, we know that sound affects almost every part of your life. Taking control of what you hear and what you don’t — your soundscape — changes everything.

In a previous post, I shared my unfortunate “middle-of-the-night-music-vacation-disaster”. It opened my eyes (and ears!) to the importance of being more proactive with managing my sound environment. In this article, I want to share the details about how I used the Akoio Soundscape Journal, and the insights I gained. 

The Akoio Soundscape Journal: Getting started

First, I downloaded the journal (free!) and printed a couple of copies. Why multiple copies? Well, I know how messy I can be, and I wanted to be able to transfer all my “notes to self” at the end of the week over to a clean copy that I could reference easily. So, one to keep, one to throw away.

Then, I put it on my kitchen counter — right by my Keurig, so that I’d remember to start using it first thing the next morning. (Sound of coffee dripping = 😊) Just having the journal in front of me helped me be more focused on noticing my everyday sounds. Here is one thing that struck me right away: If it is something pleasant that I enjoy hearing, I think of it as a “sound.” If it’s something annoying or distracting, I call it “noise.” 

Tracking sound (and noise) throughout the day

I kept the soundscape journal with me as I went through my day. Working from home can be a real “soundscape adventure.” I noted pleasant things like windchimes, the trickle of the fountain in my pond, and the breeze in the trees as I sat outside on my deck. Moving indoors to work as the afternoon heat set in, I noted entirely different things. The lack of traffic noise, the hum of the refrigerator, the beep of the washing machine alerting me that I need to transfer wet clothes into the dryer. Beeping is a distraction when I am trying to read.

A soundscape journal surprise

Having the journal handy reminded me to note sounds throughout the day. After a couple of days, I noticed one thing that came up repeatedly: barking. My dogs (I love them, really I do!) often whine for my attention and bark (intensely!) when a package arrives on the front porch.

Bill and Georgi

They bark if someone rings the doorbell. They bark when another dog walks by on the sidewalk. Sometimes they bark for what seems like no reason at all. (Of course, their hearing is far better than mine, so they are alert to things I am not.) They bark loudly, and they bark a lot.

Since pets are known to bring comfort and ease tension, it was a bit of a surprise to me how much my dogs actually stress me with their barking. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, nearly 40% of American households have a dog, or dogs. So, I know I am not alone in this dilemma. We love them. They bring a lot of companionship and love to our lives. We even enjoy the “sound” of their playful barking as we interact with them. But the barking can sometimes become a distracting or annoying “noise” for many pet owners, including me. 

More soundscape journal discoveries

Because I noted this in my soundscape journal multiple times a day, I saw that I needed to take some action to improve my daily soundscape. I watched training videos on YouTube by Cesar Millan, read articles on dog training techniques, and I even found local dog trainers that might be able to help where I wasn’t making much headway. But the journal gave me another idea. I discovered that adding the sounds of relaxing music helped. Even if it’s just on very low, it can offset the whining, not to mention traffic and other outside noises.

Without seeing it in black and white, I don’t think I would have realized how much of an issue this was in our home. And that’s the beauty of the soundscape journal. It helps you laser focus on the sounds around you, which gives you greater awareness on what you can change to create a healthier sound environment. 

Discover your soundscapes

I’m very grateful for the Akoio Soundscape Journal. Since doing this exercise, I have made conscious efforts to work on training my dogs, I turn on relaxing music more often, and I have changed settings on my washing machine! (Did you know you can silence those? But please don’t blame me if you forget to transfer those soggy clothes!) It all adds up to a more peaceful day, and a soundscape that makes me — and my dogs — feel better.

Everyone on the team at Akoio is passionate about managing sound for better health and wellness. We know that soundscape journaling will help you, too and we can’t wait to hear about your experiences. Download the Akoio Soundscape Journal now — and happy listening! 

Akoio™ is dedicated to helping everyone improve health and wellness through better hearing health and personal soundscape management. Founded and led by life-long hearing aid user and accessibility advocate, Bill Schiffmiller, Akoio is a certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE). We want to help you Conquer Life.™ © 2022 Akoio Enterprises, Inc.

Footer

Akoio Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 231317
New York, NY 10023-9998
Contact
(833) 844-5050
  • Akoio Guides
  • Blog
  • About Akoio
  • About Bill Schiffmiller
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Copyright Policy

Akoio Enterprises, Inc. BBB Business Review

  • © 2019–2022 Akoio Enterprises, Inc.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT