Driver's side engine making loud buzzing sound with hard accleration

Hey everyone. I have searched the forum and haven't been able to find anything yet that describes what my car is doing. A couple weeks ago I had the power steering rack and pinion replaced because the old one completely broke. When I picked my car up I noticed that the engine sounded louder when I started the car. Almost like I had cotton in my ears before and the cotton was removed so I could hear things louder. It was louder on the driver's side. Then when I drove it away from the mechanic I noticed the engine was making a loud buzzing sound from the driver's side. Definitely coming from engine compartment. To me it sounds like the exhaust sound kids put on their Honda's these days. It only makes the sound with hard acceleration, like pedal to the metal, and it fades out after a few seconds of acceleration. I noticed it's usually between 2000-3000 rpms. I took it to a different mechanic and he rode around the block with me and heard the noise. He said it sounded like an air intake issue, like something was loose or not connected. He looked in the engine and didn't see anything disconnected so I made an appt. When I went to pick my car up they told me that there is an "air box" under/near the bumper on the driver's side of the engine and that when I accelerate hard it is taking in more air which is what is making the noise. I told them it wasn't making this noise before I took it to get my power steering fixed. They said they didn't see anything wrong with the power steering and that there wasn't anything structurally wrong with my car. My question is, does the air box suddenly start making the car sound louder after being fine for 7 years? My car is a 2006. I don't feel any difference in the way my car is driving, it is just louder now. Sorry for the long post. I have a recording of the sound but the file type won't upload. Thanks for any help!