A damping device and a method of damping a structural element of a vehicle body are disclosed. The damping device generally includes a carrier material, a separating material, and a damping material disposed on the carrier material. The damping material is one of a material forming an open cell structure and a material having an absorption coefficient for sound waves greater than about 0.5. The method generally includes fixing a damping device on a structural element of a vehicle, the damping device including a carrier material, a separating material, and a damping material, and one of expanding and dilating at least one of the separating material and the damping material, the damping material having one of an open cell structure and an absorption coefficient for sound waves greater than 0.5 after expansion.