NICU Noise

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I am writing a paper on the effects of noise on neonates in NICUs. I'm summarizing some articles on units that have taken measures to reduce noise, but I also wanted to ask NICU RNs if your unit or you personally does anything to reduce noise levels for the babies. Any response will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Specializes in NICU.

Hello...

My unit doesnt have it, but one NICU I toured had a stop light. When the noise level got too loud it would turn yellow or red

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Our floors are carpeted. We are to talk quietly. Our phones are set to quiet, unobtrusive rings.

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Specializes in Level III NICU.

We have "Quiet Time" 3x a day. An hour dedicated to being as quiet as possible. The lights go off, the doors are shut, and we don't touch the babies (obviously if there is some kind of emergency and we have to, we do). We also have the stoplights (Yacker Trackers I think they are called). We have isolette covers. We try to put them on the isolettes of the really little ones, withdrawing babies or any baby that needs minimal stim. Our new unit (scheduled to open in 2 or so years) will be much bigger and I think it'll be much better for noise reduction. We're in a very crowded, poorly designed unit right now.

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Specializes in NICU.

We have the stop light. It's a recent addition. I think we broke one in one of our rooms. We also use phones for delivery calls etc.

Someone made a good point though (at least I thought it was a good point) It's not quiet in the womb so......

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We use the Sound Ears in each pod. I find that because they are new, most nurses do not look at them much. I took a class on them and they related high noise levels to ADHD and all sorts of other stuff.

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