In 2019, a study looked at how noise affected the well-being of children in classrooms. Over three hundred first graders across 10 different schools were involved in the study.  Room acoustics of the various classrooms were measured.

Questionnaires were given to the students to determine their state of well-being and perceived disturbance by noise. Students were then divided into groups of “happy” and “unhappy” children based on their answers. Happy students reported disturbance in classrooms with bad acoustics. However, the complaints from unhappy students in the same acoustic conditions related to feelings about themselves, such as whether they perceived themselves as fitting in at school. Higher noise and reverberation levels reduced the children’s perception of having fun and being happy with themselves.

Related post: Children are more susceptible to noise than adults