Abstract: An apparatus for damping the noise of water charged in a cooling tower onto the top of heat exchanger elements by a distributing device and dropping down from the bottom of the heat exchange elements into a collecting basin, by means of vertically inclined impact surfaces of rigid insert elements which are arranged above the collecting basin in the cooling tower. In order to avoid the direct impingement of drops of water onto the surface of the water without impairing access to the collecting basin even with a greatly varying level of water, the lower edge of the rigid impact surfaces is arranged above the maximum water level in the collecting basin and extended by a flexible guide tail which extends into the water of the collecting basin with a minimum water level. This guide tail can be pushed aside and held out of the way upon cleaning and continuously diverts the water film into the vertical direction so that a noisy separation of the water film is made impossible.