Noise, Noise, Noise
Studies have shown that patients sleep poorly and take longer to recover from surgery in noisier hospitals and that loud neonatal wards may delay development in premature babies. Wounded rats heal more slowly in noisy environments; heart patients in loud wards are more likely to be rehospitalized later. By interrupting sleep and increasing stress, noise batters the body.
Full article on the harmful effects of hospital noise.
This does not surprise me. Anything that inhibits rest is bound to slow the healing process. Noise can also induce stress unrelated to fatigue.
I would submit that it isn’t just hospital noise. Observe the impact on sleep that a snoring spouse can have. Or the impact of noise on workplace performance. You just hear about it more in hospitals because people are sick and presumably need more rest.
I was just on a plane with a woman who was accompanied by six screaming, crying, ill-mannered children. What rights do I have to be protected against such an onslaught of unwanted noise?
I’m for banning ill-mannered kids from airplanes.
Amen. Children on planes=LLLLLOOOOOONNNNNGGGG flight.
I carry ear plugs, but it’s never enough to block all the noise.
Perspicacious as usual Mr Goodman. Health care is given to partial knowledge and partial interests- in fact “partialization” is what health care is largely about- so unhealthy anti-patterns in health care will continue until there are fundamental changes in values beliefs and practices-starting with doing away with the “partializing tendency” in health care