Noise - Additional Resources

Industry Noise Resources

• A Johns Hopkins Hospital study found noise in the ED can impact patient safety. 

• At St. Elizabeth Hospital, acoustical wall coverings help reduce noise. 

• One project recognizes importance of relationships in sound control efforts. 

• Boston Medical Center tries an innovative approach to reduce audible alarms. 

• Six tools and strategies to reduce hospital noise 

• University Hospital incorporated sound-absorbing tiles in domes above nursing stations. 

• A U. of Illinois study found millions of prescription errors are made annually due to a noisy environment. 

• Many infection control strategies compound hospital noise problems. 

• The Facility Guideline Institute’s Scenario Planning Guide offers strategies for healthy designs. 

• Noise reduction strategies can also reduce hospital errors. 

• Johns Hopkins U. acoustical engineers report hospital noise levels have increased over the past 50 years. 

• U. Rochester’s Highland Hospital improves quiet ratings with multi-faceted efforts. 

• Study of ICU finds addressing noise can improve patient outcomes. 

• Harvard Med School study finds poor sleep in hospital can harm patients’ health. 

• Burden of disease from environmental noise in Europe

• Colorado Pediatric Hospital incorporates “quiet” elements into design.

• For best results, set aside time to “design” the sound environment. 

• Patients and families weigh in on evidence-based hospital designs. 

• Consider the evidence for creating healthier hospitals.

• Survey finds majority of respondents will incorporate sound-reduction into design plans over next 5 years.

• Nurses can play key role in sound-control efforts.

• UC San Diego music and sonic arts professor designs “sound bender” to address hospital noise issue.

• Find out which noise interventions work and which don’t. 

• Harvard researchers are the first to record a hospital environment and look at how the brain and heart respond to sounds.

• About half of architectural leaders currently incorporate noise-control efforts into their designs, according to a new study. This number is expected to rise.

• One hospital CEO uses a blog to communicate the facility’s latest initiatives with patients and keep them up-to-date. 

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s “Quiet at Night” Initiative combines culture changes with physical modifications like repairing door bumpers and adding thicker foam to pad the pneumatic tube system, all to keep noise to a minimum. 

• New device aims to reduce patient noise in the hospital setting by allowing intended recipients to hear sound without disturbing others. 

• 10 ways to reduce hospital noise:

• Learn how other hospitals are making strides in improving the patient experience in The Beryl Institute’s “Voices of Measurement in Improving Patient Experience” 

• ​Noise reduction needs to happen on an organization-wide basis in order to be effective. Learn more in “Noise Reduction in a Hospital Setting Using a Cultural Change Model,” by Bronwynne Carpico 

• Find out how the Mayo Clinic addresses the latest challenges they face in “Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic: Inside One of the World’s Most Admired Service Organizations,” by Kent D. Seltman and Leonard Berry. 

• Some noises can help the healing process. Learn how music can soothe your youngest patients in “Medical Music Therapy for Pediatrics in Hospital Setting,” by Deanne Hanson-Abromeit.