Comparison of auditory sensations in patients who underwent cataract phacoemulsification surgery in the first and second eye

Abstract

To compare subjective auditory sensations of patients during the first and second eye cataract surgeries. Consecutive patients who underwent phacoemulsification of the first eye (group I) and second eye (group II) completed questionnaires designed to evaluate their auditory sensations in the operating room including background music, sound of working equipment, staff conversations, and surgeon’s voice. This study included 124 patients in group I and 76 patients in group II. Patients most often heard nursing staff’s conversations (91.9% and 96%, respectively, p > 0.05), surgeon’s voice (87.9% and 86.8%, respectively, p > 0.05), and music (70.9% and 75%, respectively, p > 0.05). Music was the most pleasant experience (78.2% and 78.9%, respectively, p > 0.05). The sound of the working phacoemulsifier was the most undesirable sound (20.2% and 15.8%, respectively, p > 0.05). Patients in group II more often indicated that none of the sounds required elimination (69.7% and 52.6%, respectively, p = 0.013) or that staff conversations should be eliminated (13.2% and 3.1%, respectively, p = 0.005). The most desirable sounds during phacoemulsification include music and the surgeon’s voice regarding the procedure. The most unpleasant sound was that that of phacoemulsifier. The commonest sounds to be eliminated in groups I and II included those of equipment and staff conversations.

Fear and Anxiety Associated with Cataract Surgery Under Local Anesthesia in Adults: A Systematic Review

“…The calm voice of the surgeon has a very positive effect on calming the patient during the operation, explaining that the operation is as planned, nothing wrong is happening, and the procedure will end soon. 13 , 33 …”

Nontraditional approaches to sedation for anterior segment surgery: a narrative review

“…One RCT from 2022 showed that in a group of patients that received no preoperative sedation, nonfasting prior to cataract surgery significantly decreases preoperative anxiety, surgical pain, and operative time, suggesting that the fasting requirement before surgery with pharmacological sedation may itself negatively affect outcomes [59 ▪ ]. Intraoperative interventions such as calming surgeon verbalization [31 ▪ ,60] and music, particularly with binaural beat audio, have also been shown to decrease patient anxiety [61,62]. As the office-based setting becomes more common for cataract surgery, and possibly for some other anterior segment surgeries, surgeons should consider a holistic approach to anxiolysis with options that can augment or preclude pharmacologic sedation.…”