We look at efforts to understand sound perception and restore a sense of peace and quiet.

It was – and still is – the spookiest experience of my life. I was standing in an anechoic chamber, designed to cut out all noise, and it felt deeply disturbing. There was absolute silence. Even my breath was silent. Speech sounded weirdly muted because there was no echo at all. The hairs rose on the back of my neck and tingled. After a while, I realised I could hear my own pulse, which was a small comfort. No one stays in an anechoic chamber for long: the sensory deprivation makes people hallucinate.

An anechoic chamber is insulated from external noises and designed to minimise the reflection of sound waves inside. It’s the opposite of everyday life. If you’re sitting in a quiet room right now, pause and listen. Maybe you can hear the hum of traffic, birdsong, your laptop’s fan, a distant television. Quiet isn’t quiet any more.

Lockdown saw us forced to spend more time in our own homes. Traffic noise...