Jump to Content
View Cart
You are logged out of this journal. Log In
Noise in an intensive care unit
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 130, Issue 6, pp. 3754-3760 (2011); (7 pages)
Alerts
Alert Me When Cited
Alert Me When Corrected
Tools
Download Citation
Add to MyScitation
Permissions / Reprints
Blog This Article
Print-Friendly
Research Toolkit
Share
Email Abstract
CiteULike
del.icio.us
BibSonomy
Tweet this Article
Add to FacebookPatients and staff in hospitals are exposed to a complex sound environment with rather high noise levels. In intensive care units, the main noise sources are hospital staff on duty and medical equipment, which generates both operating noise and acoustic alarms. Although noise in most cases is produced during activities for the purpose of saving life, noise can induce significant changes in the depth and quality of sleep and negatively affect health in general. Results of a survey of hospital staff are presented, as well as measurements in two German hospital wards: a standard two-bed room and a special intermediate care unit (IMC-Unit), each in a different intensive care unit (ICU). Sound pressure data were collected over a 48 hour period and converted into different levels (LAFeq, LAFmax LAFmin, LAF 5%), as well as a rating level LAr, which is used to take tonality and impulsiveness into account. An analysis of the survey and the measured data, together with a comparison of thresholds of national and international regulations and standards describe the acoustic situation and its likely noise effects on staff and patients.
© 2011 Acoustical Society of America
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the financial support.
Article Outline
- INTRODUCTION
- STAFF SURVEY
- DESCRIPTION OF MEASUREMENTS
- RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA MEASURED IN WARDS
- CONCLUSIONS
RELATED DATABASES
To view database links for this article,
you need to log in.
KEYWORDS and PACS
ARTICLE DATA
History
Received 18 Jul 2009
Accepted 05 Oct 2011
Revised 12 Jul 2011
Accepted 05 Oct 2011
Revised 12 Jul 2011
Digital Object Identifier
For access to fully linked references, you need to log in.
For access to citing articles, you need to log in.
Access to article objects (figures, tables, multimedia) requires a subscription; log in to view available files.
(Access to supplementary files, where available, is free for this journal.)
This Publication
Scitation
Google Scholar
PubMed