In many older hospital buildings, noise is disruptive and continuous; for this reason, particular attention was paid to the acoustics in the new intensive and intermediate care unit in Seinäjoki, Finland. According to a nationwide study, on average 55% of those working in healthcare would like to see improvements to the sound environment of working facilities. […]
Hearing loss in young people aged 12-35 years is a growing issue worldwide [1]. Smart phones and iPads have come to dominate children’s lives and yet regulations limiting sound levels are not in place. Meanwhile, parents are struggling to regulate their children’s device usage. In 2022, the WHO’s estimated increase globally in the number of […]
Classrooms the world over are filled with children that have a range of hearing conditions: from tinnitus and hearing loss to glue ear and noise sensitivity (hyperacusis). Meanwhile, schools claim to be “inclusive” without accommodating this aural diversity in any way. How can they achieve real inclusivity and accessibility by applying some of the core […]
A new international standard was recently released focusing on one of the most complex indoor sound environments, the open office. Delivering you clear instructions for creating great acoustics in demanding environments is one of our main objectives, so we are happy to update you on the new ISO 22955. So what is its scope and […]
ISO 22955:2021 Acoustics — Acoustic quality of open office spaces This newly released international standard focuses on open office spaces. Office spaces are notoriously difficult to design from an acoustic standpoint. ISO 22955 will provide much needed clarity and guidance for acoustic designers. By dividing the activities of office work into subcategories and detailing all […]
“The soundscape of the average modern hospital is a cacophony of overlapping beeps, blats and pings from monitors, roaring ventilation systems, raucous bursts of conversation from visitors, patients and the nursing station, carts rumbling down hallways, televisions, phones. Sleep, essential to the healing process, is available primarily through medications. Even medicated sleep can be elusive, […]
Effects of COVID-19 on children’s literacy levels worldwide After COVID-19 struck in January 2020, schools were some of the first institutions to close as wave upon wave of restrictions and lockdowns were applied globally. With such a sudden discontinuation of many children’s schooling, the effects of the pandemic on the learning and development have been […]
The Nordic Acoustic Association and the Norwegian Acoustical Society invited scientists and engineers to attend the Baltic-Nordic Acoustic Meeting for 2021 this week and despite an online set-up the program consisted of keynote lectures, invited and contributed papers in structured parallel sessions. Some of the really interesting presentations are described here but you can find […]
One of our editors in the Czech Republic (CZ), Iveta Kralova, was recently part of an intervention study in an eye clinic in Hradec Kralove. Here follows her experience in a country where acoustic standards for healthcare are lacking and where a lot of buildings are too loud to heal. Many studies have already shown […]
A few years ago, at the Healthcare Estates Conference in Manchester, UK John Criddle from Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Martin Jones from Art in Site had a talk about how they designed the emergency dept. with the use of illustrative and digital arts to guide, reassure and role model behaviors. Their talk was called: Taking the ‘OUCH’ out of […]