The importance of noise control in a healing environment is obvious to every health care professional and it is critical for administrators to characterize and reduce hospital noise because it routinely ranks among the top complaints of hospital patients, visitors and staff. Eliminating noise in hospitals is important for a number of reasons.
High sound levels in the hospitals contribute to stress and burn-out of hospital staff, negatively affect healing (in some environments, like intensive and neonatal care trauma patients and premature children subjected to high noise levels suffer health problems later and become more sensitive to stress), interrupt speech communication and cause an increased number of medical errors, limit rest and recuperation in break rooms and cafeterias, hamper training .
Further, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that patient confidentiality is assured (this includes oral communication.) The challenge is to find solutions that meet health care design standards and fit architecturally. A strategically placed acoustic baffles reduce reverberation and absorb sound from all directions. Barriers stop noise from transmitting through walls and ceilings. Wall and ceiling panels are designed to absorb airborne sound energy and reduce overall noise and reverberation creating interiors that can help the healing begin.