Analysis of Alarm Sounds that Can be Invasive to Infants in the NICU

Abstract

Background:The NICU environment, especially the noise and light environment, is considered invasive for low birth weight infants, and there are concerns that it may affect their future development and growth. Environmental standards have been set to require that they are raised in a quiet environment. Purpose: To investigate the source of noise and its occurrence time for a better sound environment in the NICU. Subject and method: Sound pressure and frequency over a 24 hour period were continuously measured and recorded for 7 days in the NICU of facility A. From the recorded data, we listened to sounds with a high sound pressure of 65 to 80 dB. Since alarm sounds occur at all times of the day, we counted the types of alarms, their duration, and the number of times they occurred, and calculated the total energy. Result Sounds with a high sound pressure of 65 to 80 dB were alarm sounds, medical work sounds, babies crying, and people talking. The most frequent sound was alarm sounds, which occurred throughout the 24 hours, and also occurred for the longest time. It was found that when the alarm sound was turned off, the sound pressure decreased by 1.5 dB to 49.5 dB. It was also found that the alarm sounds were on for about 4 hours per 24 hours, or 17％ of the time. Conclusion:The alarm sounds occurred approximately once every six minutes over a 24 hour period. Noise inside the facility is largely influenced by people' s voices, medical work sounds, and alarm sounds. It was suggested that improvements could be made by increasing the awareness of the staff.