Everyone knows how loud it can be in the modern hospital. While all that noise was once considered a tolerable byproduct of the high-tech healing process, a growing body of research suggests that the noise by itself is actually harmful to patients — interfering with the healing process, increasing the possibility of medical errors, and increasing the stress level of everyone nearby. Studies have shown that patients sleep poorly and take longer to recover from surgery in noisier hospitals and that noisy neonatal intensive care units may delay the development of premature babies. Multiple studies have shown that noise delays wound healing in mice.
Worldwide, the sound levels inside hospitals average 72 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night — far exceeding the standard of 40 decibels or less set by the World Health Organization. In response, hospitals around the U.S. are launching “quiet campaigns” that include:
- Eliminating intercom paging and culling unnecessary alarms from monitors
- Replacing metal gurney wheels with rubber and metal trash cans with plastic
- Installing sound-absorbing flooring and paneling
- Dimming lights at night to remind staff to keep their voices down
- Designing smaller nursing stations rather than one large area
- Carpeting hallways
- Installing sound-level monitors with flashing red lights in sensitive hospital areas
The Healthcare Acoustics Research Team (HART) — an unusual collaboration of experts with experience in acoustics, engineering, architecture, psychology, and medicine — is helping health officials to rethink hospital safety and design. Ilene Busch-Vishniac, a HART team member and co-author of an important Johns Hopkins study regarding hospital noise levels, complained that there are not enough companies manufacturing materials that absorb sound and are appropriate for use in hospitals. As a result, the materials that are available are expensive.