Noise and Room Acoustic Conditions in a Tertiary Referral Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea, are investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Through a questionnaire, acoustically problematic rooms are identified. Noise levels in emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs) are measured over about three days. Acoustically critical and problematic rooms in the otolaryngology department are measured including examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, receptions, and patient rooms. RESULTS: The A-weighted equivalent noise level, L(Aeq), ranges from 54 to 56 dBA, which is at least 10 dB lower than the noise levels of 65 to 73 dBA measured in American ERs. In an ICU, the noise level for the first night was 66 dBA, which came down to 56 dBA for the next day. The noise levels during three different ear surgeries vary from 57 to 62 dBA, depending on the use of surgical drills and suctions. The noise levels in a patient room is found to be 47 dBA, while the nurse stations and the receptions have high noise levels up to 64 dBA. The reverberation times in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be below 0.6 s. CONCLUSIONS: At SNUH, the nurse stations and receptions were found to be quite noisy. The ERs were quieter than in the previous studies. The measured reverberation times seemed low enough but some other nurse stations and examination rooms were not satisfactory according to the questionnaire.

Avaliação do ruído e seus efeitos em professores e alunos de academias de ginástica / Evaluation of noise and its effects on gym teachers and students

O ruído encontra-se cada vez mais relacionado à atividade de lazer no Brasil, inclusive em academias de ginástica, onde milhares de professores e alunos estão expostos a elevados níveis de pressão sonora durante várias horas por dia, sem qualquer tipo de proteção, sendo necessária a preocupação com a saúde mental e corporal desta população. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar os níveis de ruído em academias de ginástica nas cidades de Curitiba-PR e Irati-PR, através das medições dos níveis de pressão sonora - nível sonoro equivalente (Leq), níveis mínimos (Lmin) e máximos (Lmax), simulações dos parâmetros acústicos (tempo de reverberação - TR e índice de transmissão da fala - STI) e identificação dos efeitos causados pelo ruído nos professores e alunos. Para a coleta de dados, foi utilizado um medidor sonoro classe I da marca Brüel & Kjær, modelo 2238, as simulações computacionais foram realizadas com o software Odeon Combined versão 9.2 e para a identificação dos efeitos, foram aplicados questionários nos alunos e professores. Na análise estatística foi utilizado o software R versão 2.11.1, considerado o nível de significância igual a 5% (p ? 0,05). Os resultados mostraram que os níveis de pressão sonora (Leq) variaram entre 80,1 e 100,1 dB(A), atingindo o valor máximo (Lmax) 117,2 dB(A), ultrapassando os valores limites estabelecidos pela legislação. Verificou-se que as modificações realizadas nas academias de ginástica reduziram o tempo de reverberação e alteraram a classificação do índice de transmissão da fala de pobre para satisfatório, melhorando assim as condições acústicas das academias de ginásticas. Os efeitos mais relatados pelos alunos e professores foram cansaço e fadiga vocal. Diversas alterações vocais foram apontadas pelos professores no final se sua jornada de trabalho, sendo que a mais relatada foi rouquidão. Conclui-se que o ambiente da academia de ginástica onde as pessoas buscam a promoção da saúde e lazer apresentou, incoerentemente, altos níveis de pressão sonora que são encontrados em ambientes industriais, gerando assim extrema preocupação com relação à saúde de seus alunos e, especialmente, dos professores atuantes. Diante dos resultados encontrados neste estudo, fica evidente a necessidade de ações que minimizem e controlem a ação prejudicial do ruído nas academias de ginástica, podendo ser realizadas através de medidas de controle da exposição do ruído na fonte, na trajetória e no indivíduo.

Noise is increasingly related to leisure activities in Brazil, including those carried out in fitness gyms where thousands of instructors and users are exposed to high sound pressure levels during several hours a day without any kind of protection, a situation in which it becomes necessary the concern about the mental and physical health of this population. The objective of this research was to evaluate the noise levels in fitness gyms in the cities of Curitiba and Irati in the State of Paraná through the measurements of sound pressure levels - equivalent continuous sound pressure level (Leq), minimum (Lmin) and maximum (Lmax) levels, simulations of the acoustic standards (reverberation time - RT and speech transmission index - STI) and the identification of effects caused by noise in instructors and users. A sound meter class I, model 2238 from the make Brüel e Kjær was used to collect the data and the software Odeon Combined version 9.2 was used for the computational simulations. In addition, a questionnaire was submitted to instructors and users aiming at identifying the effects of the high sound pressure levels on them. The software R version 2.11.1 was employed for the statistical analysis considering the significance level as 5% (p ? .05). The results showed that the sound pressure levels (Leq) varied between 80.1 and 100.1 dB(A), reaching the maximum value (Lmax) at 117.2 dB(A), surpassing the limits established by law. It was verified that the modifications made in the fitness gyms reduced the reverberation time and changed the speech transmission index classification from poor to fair improving the acoustic conditions of the gyms. The most reported effects by users and instructors were tiredness, and vocal fatigue. Several vocal alterations were pointed out by instructors in the end of their workday, being hoarseness the most reported one. The conclusion is that the fitness gym environment, despite being a place where people seek health improvement and leisure time, shows high sound pressure levels similar to the ones found in industrial environments, which creates an extreme concern in relation to the health of its users, and especially its instructors. In face of the results found in this research it seems unmistakable the need of efforts which minimize and control the hazardous action of noise in fitness gyms, which can be done through control measures of the noise exposure in the source, in the trajectory and in the individual.