Judging by the poor acoustic quality of many residential and commercial buildings, it appears that architects and builders do not have ears, or at least they do not care about the quality of room acoustics and architectural acoustics.

An architectural acoustics, or building acoustics consultant, is the specialist who knows soundproofing.  First, let me explain what soundproofing is. The dictionary definition is: "impervious to sound; to cause to be soundproof". I think this definition is somewhat circular.

The short answer is yes. Apartment noise is always a concern, but apartment soundproofing is feasible.  However, the success of the soundproofing effort depends on many factors, including your budget. The devil is in the details.

Office soundproofing scenario

I was called by a client to review a nearly completed construction project for a family counselling practice. The facilities consisted of a reception area, and three adjacent counselling rooms that required office privacy. The client's building contractor has seemingly followed appropriate office soundproofing methods in order to meet the stated objective of ensuring office privacy of conversation in the counselling rooms.

Was the office privacy objective achieved?

There are many factors that go into the decision regarding impact noise control. First, you need to clarify your own needs with regards to the reasons you need to soundproof ceiling. Some questions that you need to ask yourself are: