Objective and Subjective Sound Environment in University Student Dormitories

University students in China often spent more than half a day every day in their dormitories. Therefore, the sound environment plays an important role in their physiological and mental health, as well as their learning quality. In the present study, sound pressure level measurements and subjective surveys were undertaken in a typical university student dormitory at Harbin Institute of Technology, China, to examine the sound levels and sound perception of students and the effects by their daily schedule, grade, gender, and education background. The results show that the sound level is highest (68.5 dBA) at 7:30 am to 8:30 am. The students mainly complained speech sounds in the dormitory, while they are not significantly influenced by music. Female students usually focused on more kinds of sound sources than male students. The sound perception of students can also be affected by some behaviors, such as study time, sleep time or length of entertainment.