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Noise in Hospitals
The NoiseSign, with the text SHHH! - Quiet Zone is the perfect reminder for staff and visitors that they should keep their noise levels down.
Typical locations for noise warning signs:
- By the nurses station
- Corridors
- At the entrance to each ward
- Within each ward
The mere presence of the NoiseSign is often reminder enough! |
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Why Noise Signs?
Too much noise in a hospital or medical center causes patient discomfort and can result in longer recovery times. The noise in question comes from visitors, staff, patients and from the movement of equipment. Noise Warning Signs take the strain out of reminding people to keep the noise levels down.
Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can be inflicted on either the sick or the well.
Florence Nightingale, 1859.
The maximum sound level recommended for hospitals is 45 dB during the day and 35 dB at night.
Environmental Protection Agency, USA.
Noise Signs are most popular in NICU
and neonatal wards, but are valuable on other general and intensive care units to remind not just the visitors but also the staff and patients to keep their noise levels down.
Noise Monitoring at the Nurses Station |
Locating the NoiseSign
The perfect location for a sign depends on the layout and the acoustics of the area in question. The most important aspect of the NoiseSign is that it reminds people to keep the noise level down, so it is best to mount them where they are clearly visible to anybody entering the room or area. Often the Nurses Station is a good place to position one unit as this is in view to anybody visiting and also to constantly remind the staff.
There is no simple rule about the sound level trigger setting. Hospitals have different ambient noise levels and different acceptable limits. An intensive care unit will have a much lower noise threshold than a busy ward dealing with less critical illnesses. The best way to find the comfortable limit for a ward it to set the sign up to 55 dB, run it for a few hours, or even a few days, and get a feel for whether it is being too sensitive for the given environment or whether it is letting people get away with too much. Adjust up or down by a few dB as needed. A level of 45 to 55 dB is common for neonatal and intensive care areas and 50 to 60 dB is common for other areas, although it does depend a lot on the acoustics of the areas in question. |
Data Logging Option
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The NS-LOGG Data Logging Module can be added to the NoiseSign (either at time of purchase or at a later date). It samples the noise levels on a regular bases, usually once every second, every 10 seconds or every minute. This makes it possible to monitor the noise levels over a longer period of time, to see whether a noise control program is working and to check when the noisiest times are.
One data logger can be easily moved around between signs to monitor different areas. |
Ordering Details
The most suitable version of the NoiseSign for monitoring hospital noise has the order code NS-QZON, which includes the words "SHHH! - Quiet Zone". The prices and purchasing options can be seen below. The NoiseSign includes a power supply unit along with a 5m power
extension cable.
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