HOSPITAL: Exposure to noise, a real nuisance for patients

This expert opinion piece from King's College London, published in the British Medical Journal, points to 'noise pollution' in hospitals as a growing problem and a barrier to successful patient recovery. Sound exposure levels regularly exceed international recommendations and, "even in intensive care units, which care for the most vulnerable patients, it is not uncommon to experience noise levels above 100 dB, equivalent to loud music with headphones.

Lead author Dr Andreas Xyrichis recalls that noise in hospitals has already been documented as a barrier to communication between staff, a source of error, stress, irritation and fatigue for physicians and caregivers, with a negative impact on the quality and safety of care. High noise levels and noise-induced stress have negative effects on staff performance and well-being, can contribute to burnout, but not only.

 

Patient experiences are for the first time also taken into account , and the team emphasizes that environmental noise also affects patients' ability to rest, heal and recover. In the patient, exposure to noise is indeed linked "to the development of psychosis, in particular in the ICU, to increased stress induced by hospitalization, to increased sensitivity to pain, to hypertension, or even the onset of mental health problems.

 

Sleep, a key to recovery: hospital noises obviously have disruptive consequences on sleep and technical noises, from trolleys in particular, have a greater negative effect on awakening than human voices. Recovery after hospitalization is also compromised. Thus, in patients treated during noisy periods, the incidence of rehospitalization is higher than in patients treated in a quieter hospital environment.

 

Patients testify: they report - according to the authors, themselves hospital workers - that hospital noise can have a cumulative effect on their hospital experience. Patients hospitalized for several nights feel trapped and stressed, which promotes requests for premature discharge from the hospital and an increased risk of trauma and readmission.

 

Urgent measures to take:

• Accurate methods of assessing sound levels, when noise is often incorrectly associated with high sound pressure levels. Branches, for example, may record low sound pressure levels when the sin environment is actually noisy. Reduce sources of noise in hospitals: alarms, televisions, trolleys, ring phones, conversations of staff, visitors and patients. But beware, some noises are also experienced as positive, such as the noise of the catering service or the ringing of a mobile in a situation of isolation. It is therefore important to also review the different forms of noise perception by patients.
• Better inform patients and families about likely noise levels during admissions. But staff education is also necessary to foster a culture that views noise reduction as an integral part of safe, quality health care.
• Provide earplugs as needed, install acoustic treatment panels, and implement educational initiatives and noise reduction protocols.

 

Until now, patients have been seen as passive victims of hospital noise rather than active participants in its reduction. It is essential that future solutions emphasize patient involvement.