Shh Shh Shh ... Baat Nahi Karo: Hospitals should be Silence Zones

Shh Shh Shh ... Baat Nahi Karo: Hospitals should be Silence Zones Noise is a well-recognized problem in hospitals. Air-conditioning systems, medical devices, phones, pagers, alarms, people movement, conversations etc. all constitute background noise in hospitals. Adding to this is the traffic-related noise, as many hospitals may be located in congested areas. Noise has been recognized as an environmental stressor, which has both physiological and psychological effects. A growing body of literature has demonstrated the potential negative impact of noise pollution in hospitals on patients as well as doctors. Noise disrupts sleep, both quantity and quality of sleep. Sleeping is one way that the body recuperates and recovers from damage. A well-rested body is up to meeting the challenges and stress of daily life. Hence, sleep is very important for patient recovery. A noisy environment also weakens the immune system, increases BP and heart rate and adversely affects wound healing, pain management. Being exposed to constant noise may cause anxiety, stress and increase blood pressure. All these can delay patient recovery and increase hospital stay. Not only patients, doctors too are not left untouched by the negative impact of noise. Reduced concentration, headache, anxiety, annoyance/irritability resulting in reduced work efficiency are some of the outcomes of noise pollution. Perhaps most importantly, hospital noise interferes with oral communication, causing medical errors; at times with disastrous consequences for patient safety. Sound-alike drugs can cause confusion e.g. Isoprin/Isoptin, Amlopress AT/80mg. Controlling noise pollution is the need of the hour, particularly in relation to hospitals. Hospitals need to be silence zones as also areas up to 100 m around them Permissible noise limits in Silence zone are 50 dB in daytime (6am to 10 pm) and 40 dB in night time (10 pm to 6am). Public awareness is also very important to prevent and control noise pollution in hospitals. The general public needs to be sensitized to the adverse health impact of noise pollution. In an effort to control noise pollution within the hospitals, IMA will launch ‘Silent Hour’ in medical establishments. We will observe silence from 2 pm to 4 pm every day, when everyone should not talk or speak very softly to minimize noise. Shh Shh Shh ... Baat Nahi Karo … Dr KK Aggarwal National President IMA & HCFI

IMA Safe Sound Initiative: Safe Noise Points

IMA Safe Sound Initiative: Safe Noise Points • Noise has a lot of ill-effects on our health and it is the leading cause for permanent deafness. • Noise is a silent killer and affects all systems especially central nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine and immune systems. • Decibel (dB) is the unit of sound intensity. Zero dB is the minimum hearing capacity of a healthy person in a noise-free environment. Every 10 dB is 10 times more powerful. • Exposure to sounds above 80 dB for even shorter periods has serious effects on our health. • Traffic sounds are a major source of noise in Indian cities (90 to 120 dB). • Use of loudspeakers in public places after 10 pm and before 6 am is illegal. • DJs and cinemas have a noise level of 110 to 120 dB; limit your exposure to less than 2 hours in a week. Please note that even this duration is harmful to young children and pregnant ladies. • Staying away from very noisy situations, even for intervals of 5-10 minutes, reduces the ill-effects of noise to a great extent. • Use of ear plugs or muffler is highly recommended in very noisy situations. It will reduce sound exposure by 15 to 20 dB. • Participate actively in the IMA Safe Sound Initiative for a better, healthy in India. (Contributions from Dr John Panicker: Coordinator, IMA NISS)

Traffic noise linked to increased risk of heart attack

Traffic noise linked to increased risk of heart attack Traffic noise has been known to trigger stress reactions. If you live near a highway, you are at a greater risk of heart attack. Results of a case–control study based on secondary data published 17th June, 2016 in the journal Deutsches Arzteblatt International show that the risk of heart attack increases with the amount of exposure to traffic noise. This increase in risk was found to be greatest with road and rail traffic noise and less with aircraft noise. The evaluation was performed on the basis of the continuous 24-hour noise level and the categorized noise level (in 5 decibel classes). The study compared data from 19,632 patients from the Rhine-Main region of Germany who were diagnosed with myocardial infarction in the years 2006–2010 with 834,734 controls. Their exposure to aircraft, road and rail traffic in 2005 was matched to their residences. Analysing data specifically for those who died of heart attack up to 2014-15, a statistically significant risk increase due to road noise (2.8% per 10 dB rise) and railroad noise (2.3% per 10 dB rise) was observed, but not airplane noise. The author suggest that this may be due to the fact that with aircraft noise, unlike road and rail traffic noise, a continuous noise level above 65 dB did not occur; hence, the low risk association with aircraft noise. This study is part of the Europe-wide NORAH (Noise-Related Annoyance, Cognition, and Health) study investigating the health consequences of traffic noise.