Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health

Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health eff ects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced haircell and nerve damage has substantially increased, and preventive and therapeutic drugs will probably become available within 10 years. Evidence of the non-auditory eff ects of environmental noise exposure on public health is growing. Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, aff ects patient outcomes and staff performance in hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren. In this Review, we stress the importance of adequate noise prevention and mitigation strategies for public health.

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Auditory and non-auditory eff ects of noise on health

Alarm fatigue is a national problem and the number one medical device technology hazard in 2012. The problem of alarm desensitization is multifaceted and related to a high false alarm rate, poor positive predictive value, lack of alarm standardization, and the number of alarming medical devices in hospitals today. This integrative review synthesizes research and non-research findings published between 1/1/2000 and 10/1/2011 using The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice model. Seventy-two articles were included. Research evidence was organized into five main themes: excessive alarms and effects on staff; nurse's response to alarms; alarm sounds and audibility; technology to reduce false alarms; and alarm notification systems. Non-research evidence was divided into two main themes: strategies to reduce alarm desensitization, and alarm priority and notification systems. Evidence-based practice recommendations and gaps in research are summarized.

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Monitor alarm fatigue: an integrative review.

There is increasing concern about the effects of pile driving and other anthropogenic (human-generated) sound on fishes. Although there is a growing body of reports examining this issue, little of the work is found in the peer-reviewed literature. This review critically examines both the peer-reviewed and 'grey' literature, with the goal of determining what is known and not known about effects on fish. A companion piece provides an analysis of the available data and applies it to estimate noise exposure criteria for pile driving and other impulsive sounds. The critical literature review concludes that very little is known about effects of pile driving and other anthropogenic sounds on fishes, and that it is not yet possible to extrapolate from one experiment to other signal parameters of the same sound, to other types of sounds, to other effects, or to other species.

The effects of anthropogenic sources of sound on fishes.

Introduction Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care and Patient Safety Human Factors and Patient Safety: Continuing Challenges Macroergonomics and Systems A Historical Perspective and Overview of Macroergonomics Work System Design in Health Care Sociotechnical System Design in Health Care Clinical Microsystems in Health Care: The Role of Human Factors in Shaping the Microsystem The Artichoke Systems Approach for Identifying the Why of Error Organizational Learning in Health Care The Relationship Between Physician Professionalism and Health Care Systems Change Collaborative Initiatives for Patient Safety Job and Organizational Design Job Stress in Health Care Workers Effect of Workplace Stress on Patient Outcomes Safety Culture in Health Care Burnout in Health Care Human Factors of Transition of Care Reliability Enhancement and Demise at Back Bay Medical Center's Children's Hospital The Relation Between Teamwork and Patient Safety Physical Ergonomics Human Factors in Hospital Safety Design Physical Environment in Health Care Physical Ergonomics in Health Care Evidence-Based Interventions for Patient Care Ergonomics Ergonomics: Noise and Alarms in Health Care An Ergonomic Dilemma Technology Human Factors Engineering and the Design of Medical Devices Patient Safety and Technology: A Two-Edged Sword New Technology Implementation in Health Care Robotics in Health Care: HF Issues in Surgery Human Computer Interaction in Health Care Re-Presenting Reality: The Human Factors of Health Care Information Human Error Behind Human Error: Taming Complexity to Improve Patient Safety Human Error Reduction Strategies in Health Care Medical Failure Taxonomies Human Factors of Health Care Reporting Systems Communicating About Unexpected Outcomes and Errors Human Factors and Ergonomics Methodologies Cognitive Work Analysis in Health Care Human Factors Risk Management in Medical Products Work Systems and Process Analysis in Health Care Video Analysis in Health Care Usability Evaluation in Health Care Assessing Safety Culture and Climate in Health Care Incident Analysis in Health Care Human Factors and Ergonomics Interventions Ergonomics Programs and Effective Interventions Quality Improvement in Health Care Work Organization Interventions in Health Care Teamwork Training for Patient Safety: Best Practices and Guiding Principles Tilting the Culture in Health Care: Using Cultural Strengths to Transform Organizations Specific Applications Human Factors and Ergonomics in Intensive Care A Process-Oriented Approach Human Factors and Ergonomics in the Emergency Department Human Factors and Ergonomics in Pediatrics Human Factors and Ergonomics in Home Care Human Factors and Ergonomics in Nursing Home Care Human Factors and Ergonomics in Primary Care

Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care and Patient Safety (Human Factors and Ergonomics Series) (Human Factors and Ergonomics Series)

Increasing trends toward urbanization can lead to increased exposure to transportation noise from automobiles and aircraft. Interestingly, current aircraft noise guidelines primarily are based on outdoor sound levels even though most people spend the majority of their time indoors. A research project is being conducted that provides insight into how typical residential envelopes affect indoor sound levels, with a focus on noise from commercial aircraft overflights. A pilot, single-room "test house" has been built using typical mixed-humid climate region construction techniques, and the outdoor-to-indoor transmission of sound is being directly measured. The test house results are being used to validate and improve computer models that can be used to simulate outdoor-to-indoor transmission of sound. These models will allow for flexibility in future work to simulate a wide range of construction types for other United States (US) climate regions, as well as effects of acoustic and energy retrofits. The improved models developed through this project, therefore, will help improve understanding of expected acoustic performance for typical construction types around the US including design alterations that can help insulate homes from aircraft noise.

Aircraft Sound Transmission in Homes Categorized by Typical Construction Type

In The Effects of Noise on Man, Karl Kryter emphasized that human reaction to sound is quantitatively related to the physical nature of sounds. He specified five unwanted characteristics of sound: “(a) the masking of unwanted sounds, particularly speech, (b) auditory fatigue and damage to hearing, (c) excessive loudness, (d) some general quality of bothersomeness or noisiness, and (e) startle.” Hospital soundscapes have been shown to demonstrate all five characteristics in one fashion or another. Some unwanted effects of sound have also been shown, such as fragmented sleep and recuperation, cardiovascular response, pain and intensive care delirium—however, few studies have been able to causally link sounds to patient outcomes and few examine detailed characteristics other than loudness. This paper will summarize what we know about noise in hospitals and the health effects on occupants, including highlights from the Healthcare Acoustics Research Team (HART) body of research. Results will be used to identify important areas for future research.

Prescribing healthy hospital soundscapes

In intensive care unit (ICU) settings, the sound environment is critically important to nurses accomplishing their tasks. In earlier studies by the authors, it was found that non‐amplified environmental sounds such as patient bodily sounds, patient threatening/unusual sounds, and help calls from patients and other caregivers are critically important auditory cues that nurses must listen for and respond to immediately. These sounds do not exist in isolation but matter as a pattern of aural connectivity that can support a nurse's critical monitoring abilities as she moves through her workplace. Aural connectivity is a network measure that reflects the overall pattern of where users can hear and respond to different key sounds within a setting. This paper describes the sound environments of two ICU hospital settings with similar patient acuity levels but differing layout designs. Preliminary results regarding the patterns of aural connectivity and the role that layout design might play in those patterns are ...

Aural Connectivity: Enhancing sound environments in critical care settings for effective nurse auditory monitoring

An architectural acoustician relies on the physics of sound propagation, material properties, and noise control to craft a desired soundscape.

Acoustic design of music rehearsal rooms

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of the wearer's voice as a dominant sound source on body‐mounted noise dosimeters in medium‐level acoustic environments. Noise dosimeters provide a convenient method of quantifying an occupant's acoustical exposure. In recent years, interest in personal noise exposure has expanded beyond a necessary safety measure used in industrial settings to be used as a means of documenting a person's exposure to sound pressure levels in lower level environments like hospitals and schools. This study quantifies the contribution of the wearer's voice to the dosimeter measurement in sixteen different office conditions. Statistical analysis was used to determine the effects of the following experimental variables on the measured levels: 1) the type of room in which the measurement is taken, 2) the type of background noise present, 3) the level of background noise. Preliminary statistical results suggest significant main effects of the experimental variables with no significant interaction effects. The statistical effect of the subject's hearing level was also considered. The results of this study can improve the interpretation of dosimeter measurements in medium‐level environments and may provide further motivation for alternate methods of quantifying sound pressure levels associated with body‐mounted measurements.

Erica E. Ryherd

Papers

Aircraft Sound Transmission in Homes Categorized by Typical Construction Type

Prescribing healthy hospital soundscapes

Aural Connectivity: Enhancing sound environments in critical care settings for effective nurse auditory monitoring

Acoustic design of music rehearsal rooms

Quantifying the noise environment: effects of the wearer's voice on body‐mounted noise dosimeter measurements