Noise and room acoustic conditions in a tertiary referral hospital in Seoul, Korea

Cheol-Ho Jeong, Wan-Ho Cho, Ji-ho Chang, Seong-Hyun Lee, Moo Kyun Park, Myung-Whan Suh, Jae Joon Han

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Noise levels and room acoustic parameters at a tertiary referral hospital, Seoul National University Hospital in Korea, are investigated. 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: examination rooms, operating rooms, nurse stations, patient rooms, and audiometric rooms. The equivalent A-weighted noise level, LAeq, ranges from 54 to 56 dBA in two 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 reason for the higher noise level for the first night in the ICU was frequent alarm sound and treatment noise related to a critical patient. The noise level in the measured ERs is about 10 dB lower than those measured in other ERs in the US, which range from 65 to 73 dBA. 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 have a high noise level up to 64 dBA, even noisier than the ERs. The reverberation time, T20, in an operation room, examination room, and single patient room are found to be satisfactory below 0.6 s.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings of BNAM 2018
    Number of pages6
    Publication date2018
    Publication statusPublished - 2018
    EventBaltic-Nordic Acoustics Meeting 2018 - Harpa, Reykjavík, Iceland
    Duration: 15 Apr 201818 Apr 2018

    Conference

    ConferenceBaltic-Nordic Acoustics Meeting 2018
    LocationHarpa
    Country/TerritoryIceland
    CityReykjavík
    Period15/04/201818/04/2018

    Bibliographical note

    Proceedings of BNAM 2018

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