Sound level around seriously ill patients “like a busy road”
Seriously ill patients in intensive care units are being cared for in environments with sound levels more than 20 dB higher than the WHO’s recommendations. This is shown by a study carried out in partnership between the University of Gothenburg and the University of Borås.In the study, the researchers registered sound levels around seriously ill patients cared for in the intensive care unit at Södra Älvsborg Hospital in Western Sweden over a 24-hour period. The study shows that the sound levels around seriously ill patients were on average between 51 and 55 dB. This is comparable with a