Effects of noise 1) SLEEP DISRUPTION: For a good night’s sleep, continuous background noise should not exceed 30 dB, and individual noise events exceeding 45 dB should be avoided (1). Average nighttime noise levels in hospitals are over 60 dB (2). 2) FEELINGS OF HELPLESSNESS: Sounds from neighboring patients and from advanced medical treatments and […]
Healthcare
Acoustic research in care of the elderly
Scientists are currently investigating the role of acoustics in the care of the elderly, under the leadership of Nicole van Hout. She is co-owner of Level Acoustics and is participating in a major research project entitled “Life enrichment care. Building physics interventions for the well-being of frail elderly.” The project aims to enhance physical environmental […]
Deaf Awareness Week 2015 – Myths
There are many myths about hearing impairment and deaf children. Let´s look into that! Deaf Awareness Week This week, during Deaf Awareness Week the NDCS (National Deaf Children’s Society) is highlighting findings from their published research. Focusing on the experiences of their members whose children have mild to moderate hearing loss. And teachers, in conjunction […]
Interview with Alessandro Caruso
Alessandro Caruso is a UK-based architect committed to creating healing environments for the healthcare industry. Healthcare design Alessandro Caruso’s interest in healthcare design stems from a personal experience that gave him a mission: to improve the healthcare environment for patients. Many years ago, Alessandro had a serious motorcycle accident that left him confined to bed […]
New digital Healthcare magazine
Over the past 40 years, average noise levels in hospitals have increased by a full 15 decibels (dB) reaching levels of around 70 decibels. Exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 35 dB for a healing environment! Members of staff devote about 40 percent of their work time to communicating in one way or […]
New digital magazine about healthcare acoustics
A new digital magazine about healthcare acoustics, the ECO for Sustainable Design – Healthcare edition, has recently been released. Available via Google Play (and soon App Store), this digital publication is choc-a-bloc with case studies from the healthcare sector. It can easily be shared with friends who work in healthcare professions and others interested in […]
Sound Environment improved in NICU at UZ Leuven
The sound environment was improved in one of the bays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Leuven when installing acoustical islands. NICU The NICU has an innovative design focused on improving conditions for both staff and patients. The general layout is based on 3 interconnected bays. Each bay has 12 single-unit patient rooms […]
Impact of sound environment in healthcare settings
Watch Gunnar Öhlen, Chief Medical Officer at Karolinska University Hospital and Paul Barach, Guest professor at the University of Oslo get together to discuss the effects of a sound environment in healthcare. Gunnar tells us about overnight acoustic conditioning that was made in the trauma rooms. You can hear the difference in the video, as […]
Being critically ill and surrounded by noise – doctoral thesis
On November 21st Lotta Johansson of Gothenburg university defended her doctoral thesis at the Ph.D. disputation held at Academic. The title of the thesis is “Being critically ill and surrounded by sound and noise. Patient experiences, staff awareness and future challenges“. The aim of the thesis was to show how critically ill patients experience sound […]
Elderly care acoustics makes the news in NL
On the 22nd of April, news about the importance of acoustics in elderly care was broadcasted on Dutch national television. Jikke Reinten Jikke Reinten, a Concept developer for Healthcare, was on the news, click this link (skip forward and watch the acoustic relevant film from 21.37 mins). The interview is in Dutch but below is […]
