Sound Masking in Healthcare Environments

By TN

Healthcare ,
30 Mar

A Sound Plan: How To Achieve Optimal Healthcare Acoustics

“As the lowest-scoring category in the HCAHPS survey since 2007, quiet hospital environments are a challenging issue.

Other Press Ganey surveys also rank noise as a top-five complaint among hospital patients. And while the World Health Organization recommends that noise not exceed 35 dB, many studies conducted in hospitals have found average background noise ranges between 45 dB and 68 dB, peaking at more than 90 dB.”

The main noisemakers in healthcare facilities: behavior and technology

(2015 article, so some of the ACA items may not be currently relevant)

“Noise control is even more important now that the Affordable Care Act has mandated that reimbursement for hospital services be based, in part, on patient satisfaction surveys.

Barach cites studies that estimate average hospital noise at 70–80 decibels, or 20–30 db above World Health Organization recommended levels. Older hospitals have even worse acoustics. Barach also suggests that noise in general is an “abstraction” that even newer hospitals find difficult to define and mitigate.”

Dangerous Decibels: Hospital Noise More Than a Nuisance

“Fast forward to 1995, when the World Health Organization (WHO) outlined its hospital noise guidelines, suggesting that patient room sound levels not exceed 35 decibels (dB). Yet since 1960, the average daytime hospital noise levels around the world have steadily risen to more than double the acceptable level (from 57 to 72 dB), with nighttime levels increasing from 42 to 60 dB. WHO found that the issue was not only pervasive, but high noise levels remained fairly consistent across the board, despite the type of hospital (ScienceDaily, 2005).”