I have a small hard drive that is making a constant high pitched sound that is typical of the drive, and not very noticeable to the average person, but I have pain induced noise sensitivity. I am curious about how to calculate damping potential. As an initial guestimate, the frequency is very near to my maximum audible range and likely around 12kHz-16kHz. It is a little higher than the switch mode power supplies that I can also hear if it is dead silent in the room, although the drive is a higher amplitude. Addressing the noise with a solution is probably beyond the scope of anything I would actually do, but knowing how to solve it is far more interesting to me. (ELI15 )
You might be overthinking this. Frequency is inverse of wavelength, so to answer your question, you need material with no gaps larger than the wavelength to block the sound.
The distance of the sound depends on the energy of the sound and your hearing. So imagine your drive is a tiny light bulb. Turn off the light in your room, wherever you see light, or reflection of light, you’ll hear the noise.
My suggestions:
First is to cover your drawer opening with cloth, or foam and see if that reduces enough sound. I know this might over heat your drive.
If that doesnt work, mount the drive under your desk with velcro, or mount the drive that is not directly line-of-sight to your ears.
I don’t think there is a way to block out all of the sound, especially at night when it’s very quiet. I turn off all electronics in my bedroom at night, otherwise I can’t sleep.