# Acoustic Environment and Noise Exposure in Fitness Halls
## 4 Conclusions and Recommendations  
Indoor sports and gymnasium halls located in Amman, Jordan were studied with regard to the comfort level of the acoustic environment and occupational noise exposure of instructors. The first part involved a review of the literature, which aimed to collect data about the acoustic environment in large indoor environments and its influence on users comfort. The second part covered the methods, measurements, and interviews and questionnaires. Measurements of reverberation time and equivalent sound pressure levels were carried out in 20 IS & G halls. The third part covered the results of the measured reverberation time, and ambient and activity noise levels. The results from this study show that the majority of IS & G halls have a long reverberation time that exceeds the local and international  
Figure 14: Subjective rating of background noise and ambient noise level measurements.  
Figure 13: Rating of reverberant sounds and mid-frequency reverberation time, \(T_{\textit{mf}}\) (s), measurements.  
recommended levels. There is a need for improvement and addition of absorptive acoustic materials. The study shows a strong relationship between measured reverberation time and the subjective rating of reverberant sounds in IS & G halls. An improvement in the values of reverberation time will improve the acoustic comfort. Improving the reverberation time could be done by selecting interior finishing materials on walls, floors, and ceilings that do not represent optimal acoustic design in the studied IS & G halls. The measured activity noise level values in this study show that the majority of these spaces have high noise levels; however, the annoyance of these activity noise levels to instructors was moderate, and they were rated as fair. This may be because the instructors have adapted and are used to these sounds as part of their work environment [56]. The study highlights the participants' annoyance at music played throughout sport lessons. Moreover, the author subjectively experienced discomfort in the acoustic environment; this is consistent with the interviewees' evaluations, in which 40% of the studied IS & G halls were reported to be excessively reverberant.  
The average personal noise exposure for instructors at IS & G halls was 92.6 dB(A), whereas 90% of measurement results were above the occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 85.0 dB(A), to which 40% of instructors were potentially exposed. More actions should be taken to reduce the noise. Subjective ratings of listening conditions showed a statistically strong (\(p<0.01\)) relationship with reverberation time rather than noise level. Although there are studies concerning noise exposure for sport instructors, few studies investigated the acoustic comfort of the participants in the fitness halls; moreover, few consider the satisfaction of participants who are the customers of the fitness halls.  
Raising awareness of hearing problems for instructors working at IS & G halls requires understanding that the noise levels generated in the studied facilities constitute a possible workplace noise hazard. It is important to communicate the risks of loud music in IS & G halls with media outlets to publicize research findings and raise awareness among those at risk. The acoustic design was not given sufficient consideration in the building design. Thus, enforcement of the recommended reverberation times is necessary and can be addressed by adding acoustic treatments and sound-absorbing materials to reduce the reverberation time.  
This research received no external funding.  
The author acknowledges the financial support of the Deanship of Scientific Research at the German Jordanian University under research grant number 1/SABE/2018. Moreover, the author is grateful to Arch. [PERSON] for his efforts in preparing the simulation of the case study. In addition, the author is grateful to the management and users of the fitness gym centers for their collaboration in conducting this study.  
The author declares no conflict of interest.