Ben says. “And I suppose it was a bit naive, really. Nobody in the UK was doing this, and at the time, nobody cared much about acoustics in everyday spaces. We were selling into small spaces like Scout halls and community centres, just trying to make people pay attention and listen.”

The product, a spray-applied acoustic finish, works by absorbing sound energy into its fibrous structure, transforming it into heat energy and stopping reverberation in its tracks. “In a busy restaurant with lots of hard surfaces, you can get a reverberation time of three seconds,” Ben explains. “That means your words are literally bouncing around the room, overlapping with your conversation and those of the people around you, creating a huge swell of noise that can make it difficult to focus on the person speaking to you. It’s exhausting for anyone, and particularly for those with hearing loss or auditory sensitivities.”

The motivation behind the brand

Ben’s passion for sound control isn’t just professional – it’s personal. “I have tinnitus from ten years of DJing, so I understand the difficulties people can have.” he shares. “I’m 6ft 2, my wife’s a foot shorter than me, and in a noisy place with music in the background, I really struggle to hear her sometimes. You end up spending the whole night in your own head, and that can be pretty lonely.”

This personal experience fuels Oscar Acoustic’s broader mission, particularly in the live music space. After connecting with Marion Marincat, Co-founder of Sownd Affects, on LinkedIn who lost his hearing six years ago and now lives with cochlear implants, and who also had a background in live music and a passion for protecting hearing health, Ben was inspired to act.

“He’d approached grassroots music venues and asked, ‘Can we make these more inclusive?’ and that struck a chord with me. That world had been a huge part of his life, and suddenly, it was gone.”

The result of the connection between Ben and Marion is a new initiative aiming to make small music venues more inclusive through applying rapid acoustic treatments, and to tell those stories through short films. “We’re not just spraying ceilings,” Ben says. “We’re trying to create a new standard. A badge that says: this venue is inclusive; not just for people with hearing loss, but for neurodiverse audiences too.”

The stats speak volumes

Oscar Acoustics recently released a white paper after surveying 2,000 UK office workers on noise. The results are stark:

• 30% said they work from home to escape workplace noise,
• A third have changed working hours to avoid peak noise periods,
• 1 in 5 has experienced conflict due to noise-related tension,
• The number of people using headphones to block out noise has almost doubled from 23% in 2022 to 41% in 2025.

“People are becoming less tolerant to noise,” Ben notes. “And the irony is, as offices get more modern – with open plans, hard floors, and no acoustic ceiling tiles – they’re becoming less workable. We’re seeing a real impact on wellbeing, collaboration and even employee retention. The cost attached to this is huge.”

Engineering better environments

Oscar Acoustics’ roots in engineering still run deep. “We’re not just installers: we design and create our own products,” Ben says. “If we come across a problem onsite, we solve it ourselves. That’s the bonus of being engineers.”

Their acoustic spray range now includes four finishes, including a smooth spray that suits premium spaces and textured, deliberately industrial finishes. “For one client, we treated 45,000 square metres in their building. It’s fast, efficient, and scalable.”

They’ve also developed bespoke acoustic ceiling hangers to tackle neighbour noise from above. The Iso-Mount is an easy-to-install and affordable soundproof ceiling solution that brings serenity to any space, from houses and flats to offices, shops and restaurants. A significant part of Oscar Acoustics’ growth has come not just from product innovation, but education. “We had to be smart about marketing because we wanted people to understand why the products work so well and the long-term benefits for people,” Ben says. “We started small, but now we work in collaboration with Think Tank, host webinars, give CPD presentations, and sit at roundtables with architects and professors. We even hosted a RIBA round table event at our own HQ.

His mission? To make good acoustics the norm: not an afterthought. “If it’s done right, no one notices. But when it’s wrong, everyone suffers.”

What’s next for Oscar Acoustics?

Ben officially joined the company 20 years ago, though he’s been helping out since childhood, with memories of weekends spent helping his Dad in the warehouse. He’s worked his way through a range of different skills in product development, design and fitting before he became Managing Director in 2017. “The deep knowledge I’ve gathered through working in so many areas of the business has been vital,” he says. “But the biggest learning curve? The environmental side.”

Oscar Acoustics’ new state-of-the-art HQ now ranks in the top 0.3% of the UK’s most sustainable buildings. “We designed it ourselves,” Ben adds with pride. “We’re certified to the hilt. Because being environmentally responsible isn’t optional; it’s essential. It’s one of the many ways that we believe we truly stand out from our competitors.”

And the ceiling tiles? “My personal mission,” he says, “is to rid the UK of those horrible things… without compromising on acoustics!”

A huge thank you to Ben from Oscar Acoustics for sharing more about their inspiring company mission with us. To find out more, you can visit their website