The Influence of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Design on Sound Level

Chen, Hsin-Li; Chen, Chao-Huei; Wu, Chi Chang; Huang, Hsiu-Jung; Wang, Teh-Ming; Hsu, Chia‐Chi

doi:10.1016/s1875-9572(09)60076-0

Cited by 40 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These values are above those recommended by WHO. Similar results were obtained by several authors in the same type of units [4,8,28,29]. It is important to note that during the measurements, different operational equipment, including alarms, monitors, ventilators, infusion pumps, and nebulizers were operating.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Noise Reduction and Control in Hospital Environment: Design of the NeoNoise Project

Carvalhais¹,

Silva²,

Xavier³

et al. 2016

Advances in Noise Analysis, Mitigation and Control

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The "NeoNoise Project: Integrated Approach to Minimize Sound Pressure Levels in Neonatal Intensive Care Units" is being conducted by the Research Group on Occupational and Environmental Health of the Research Center on Health and Environment in neonatal intensive care units, since exposure to sound pressure levels in these spaces has been recognized as a factor that influences the quality and well-being of the occupants (workers and others), as well as the recovery of premature infants who are hospitalized. This work reports the rationale and the design of the NeoNoise project as well as the methods used for data collection. A brief review on the results published and available for the scientific community is also made. In general, NeoNoise project intends to make an integration of all relevant factors, with the intention of presenting a guiding document to change the working practices and occupant's behaviors. So far, this study provided data on sound pressure levels by objective and subjective approaches, as well as information about the exposure factors and sensitivity of the occupants to noise.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Noise Reduction and Control in Hospital Environment: Design of the NeoNoise Project

Carvalhais¹,

Silva²,

Xavier³

et al. 2016

Advances in Noise Analysis, Mitigation and Control

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Not only do such exposures exceed current guidelines based on "safe" exposure levels, but elevated sound levels have also been shown to affect preterm infants' physiological parameters, stress and behavioural states [52]. The loud sound stimuli delivered in the interventions could potentially have produced a hyperstimulatory response, which would likely have effected certain outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language Exposure of Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Unit: A Systematic Review

Best¹,

Bogossian²,

New³

2018

Neonatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Elevated sound levels and low language exposures of preterm infants (< 37 weeks) cared for in the neonatal unit contribute to poorer growth, cognition, language and motor outcomes. These delays can have lasting effects on childhood development and continue throughout adult life. Whilst recommendations have been established for appropriate sound exposure levels in neonatal units, very little is known about the optimal level of language exposure. Objectives: To examine the evidence regarding language exposure, both measured (observational) and prescribed (interventional), in preterm infants (< 37 weeks) cared for in neonatal units and to identify optimal exposure levels to promote neurodevelopment. Search Methods: An electronic search of English-language articles with an open date range was conducted in the PubMed, MEDLINE, Joanna Briggs, CINAHL and Cochrane databases and in Google Scholar. The criteria were limited to original research studies of preterm infants (< 37 weeks) in which language was either measured as it naturally occurred in the neonatal unit environment or through a language intervention. Results: The search produced a total of 2,367 articles, 49 of which were related to language. A full-text review of these articles identified 10 eligible studies and 6 studies from reference searches. Conclusions: Preterm infants experience low levels of language exposure and high sound exposures in neonatal units. There is a lack of conclusive evidence to recommend an optimal level of language exposure to support improved neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants. Further research from large, good-quality clinical trials is required before clear direction can be provided to inform clinical practice.

show abstract

“…derived from the frequent reality that hospitalized preterm newborns are overexposed to loud, toxic, and unpredictable environmental noise generated by ventilators, infusion pumps, fans, telephones, pagers, monitors, and alarms (48)(49)(50)(51), whereas at the same time they are also deprived of the low-frequency, patterned, and biologically familiar sounds of their mother's voice and heartbeat, which they would otherwise be hearing in utero (33,45). In addition, the hospital environment contains a significant amount of high-frequency electronic sounds (52,53) that are less likely to be heard in the womb because of the sound attenuation provided by maternal tissues and fluid within the intrauterine cavity (54)(55)(56).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Webb¹,

Heller

Benson

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

173

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brain development is largely shaped by early sensory experience. However, it is currently unknown whether, how early, and to what extent the newborn's brain is shaped by exposure to maternal sounds when the brain is most sensitive to early life programming. The present study examined this question in 40 infants born extremely prematurely (between 25-and 32-wk gestation) in the first month of life. Newborns were randomized to receive auditory enrichment in the form of audio recordings of maternal sounds (including their mother's voice and heartbeat) or routine exposure to hospital environmental noise. The groups were otherwise medically and demographically comparable. Cranial ultrasonography measurements were obtained at 30 ± 3 d of life. Results show that newborns exposed to maternal sounds had a significantly larger auditory cortex (AC) bilaterally compared with control newborns receiving standard care. The magnitude of the right and left AC thickness was significantly correlated with gestational age but not with the duration of sound exposure. Measurements of head circumference and the widths of the frontal horn (FH) and the corpus callosum (CC) were not significantly different between the two groups. This study provides evidence for experience-dependent plasticity in the primary AC before the brain has reached full-term maturation. Our results demonstrate that despite the immaturity of the auditory pathways, the AC is more adaptive to maternal sounds than environmental noise. Further studies are needed to better understand the neural processes underlying this early brain plasticity and its functional implications for future hearing and language development. auditory | brain | mother's voice | heartbeat | preterm newborns

show abstract

The Influence of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Design on Sound Level

Cited by 40 publications

References 11 publications

Noise Reduction and Control in Hospital Environment: Design of the NeoNoise Project

Noise Reduction and Control in Hospital Environment: Design of the NeoNoise Project

Language Exposure of Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Unit: A Systematic Review

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About