If you've ever spent a night in a hospital before, you know how difficult it can be to fall asleep or just relax. Surrounded by beeping machines, rolling carts, noise is everywhere and often exceeds acceptable levels.
In the UK, 40% of inpatients are bothered by noise at night; the NHS Inpatient Survey consistently found noise levels in excess of 100 decibels measured in intensive care units. This level of noise makes it nearly impossible to fall into deep sleep and is beyond the point at which hearing damage begins to occur. Excessive hospital noise can not only harm patients by causing annoyance and fatigue by affecting the quality of sleep and rest, but it can also interfere with the quality of care they receive.
Hospitalized patients are more prone to anxiety and stress than healthy individuals, and the noisy and distracting noise environment of hospital rooms exacerbates this vulnerability. The increased stress caused by a noisy hospital environment can also affect pain sensitivity, blood pressure and mental health, often leading to premature hospital discharge and readmission.
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Noise also has a significant impact on communication between physicians and nurses and their patients, affecting the quality of care provided as well as their personal performance and fatigue.
The benefits of effective acoustic treatment on health and well-being have been well studied in offices and other work environments. Therefore, good acoustical design should be a priority in any new hospital project, whether new construction or renovation.
Due to the hygiene and cleanliness requirements within hospitals, hard surfaces such as solid floors, brick or heavily plastered walls and standard tiled ceilings result in environments with high levels of reverberation. These surface reflections and sounds return to the space, travel through the corridors of other rooms and extend for considerable distances in the hospital. These lingering sounds can make the environment feel louder than it is, creating an uncomfortable experience for patients and staff.
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Regulations and guidelines for hospital acoustics can be found here. Known as HTM08-01, this document outlines standards and guidelines for a range of factors related to hospital noise and acoustics. Many of the guidelines refer to architectural aspects, including windows, doors, acoustics/soundproofing, and exterior noise factors.
We focus more on internal noise factors and absorb or address acoustical issues within each particular room or space. We typically use soundproof foam panels on walls or ceilings to deal with reverberation and echoes in a variety of commercial spaces.
In circulation or waiting areas, we are able to choose our most effective acoustic solutions, which can significantly improve the performance of these spaces. The clarity of announcements, the dialogue between doctors and loved ones, and the overall comfort of these areas will all be improved thanks to acoustic treatment.
Another way to deal with noise problems in a variety of environments, sound masking can also help mask the noise that travels between rooms. In some ways, it is the opposite of sound absorption, as it actually involves adding sound to a space rather than taking it away. Sound masking is a type of ambient noise that is specifically tuned to reduce the perceived volume of other noises in the environment.
Recently, sound masking systems have become increasingly popular in healthcare environments. Certain studies have actually shown that patients in rooms with sound masking systems installed find it easier to sleep because it prevents unwanted noises such as machine beeps from disturbing their sleep.
Not only does sound masking benefit patients as they sleep, it also helps to reduce the clarity of speech throughout the hospital. This is especially important for physician offices and exam rooms where a degree of privacy and confidentiality is required. Regardless of the hospital's existing acoustical setup, sound masking systems can be installed anywhere with high impact.
If you want to get more information about the types of acoustic foam, welcome to contact us today or request a quote.
