Measuring Environmental Noise for Babies in Special Care Nurseries and Neonatal Intensive Care Units on a Large...

Noise in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and special care nurseries (SCN) may have adverse physiological effects on the unwell neonates they care for, including permanent hearing impairment. However, existing studies have typically involved a small number of NICUs, noise has not been measured in special care nurseries (SCNs), and randomization to determine causal associations between noise and outcomes is likely impossible. This paper aims to describe a feasible and accurate method for the measurement of noise across multiple NICUs and SCNs to estimate the levels of noise to which individual babies are exposed.

Data will be collected in three steps: (1) An Environmental Characterisation Survey that will provide information regarding NICU/SCN layout and help to plan noise intensity data collection; (2) Noise intensity data collection using sound level meters and literature-based estimates to quantify environmental and device-associated noise levels; (3) Extraction of clinical data from babies' medical records to determine the duration of exposure to different noise sources during admission. No noise exposure patterns across domains (e.g., ambient, device-related) and time periods of each neonate will be described.

This method should produce valid and rich data whilst also being low in required resources and research burden. If enough NICUs and SCNs take part and between-unit noise variation is substantial, this would enable future research to model presence and size of causal relationships of noise exposure with neonatal and later linked outcomes, such as hearing loss.