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The picture doesn't look pretty and shows that there is an urgent need for noise reduction in hospitals. This may be common sense to you and me, but, unfortunately, the impact of excessive noise is widely underestimated, despite patient surveys consistently bearing witness to noise and lack of sleep complaints.

A team of Mayo Clinic nurses published a disturbing report in the American Journal of Nursing. The nurses measured hospital noise with peak levels of up to 113 dB, the equivalent of power tools and motorized garden equipment. After implementing noise reduction measures, they were able to reduce the levels to 86 dB for the busiest time of shift changes.

Education may address the problem of noisy staff and visitors. New technology is, however, not easily controlled, other than at the point of manufacture. Mobile phones (cell phones), pagers, alarms and buzzers of monitoring equipment, pumps, air-conditioning equipment, to name a few, raise the background noise to levels not heard of 20 or 30 years ago. To make matters worse, when the ambient noise level is high, then, of course, a conversation needs to be louder to be effective. Can you remember the library-like quietness in a hospital? Probably not, as “technology” noise is becoming the norm everywhere. This doesn't mean we should accept it – just the opposite.

Health care should give us the best possible conditions to support the self-healing processes of our bodies. A noisy environment isn't such a condition. It is reasonable to assume, that hospital noise, and a noisy home for that matter, slows the healing process and extends the stay. In contrast, a well-rested person has a stronger immune system and requires less time to recover.To be fair, though, some hospitals and their staff do their very best to promote a relaxing and quiet environment for their patients.

There is solid evidence that sleep deprivation impedes the immune system and interrupts vital hormone production. With this in mind, imagine yourself in a hospital room with bright lights and constant background noise while your body fights inflammation and infection, just after a major operation.

It would be safe to assume that the shouting, talking, phones or pagers ringing, trolley wheels screeching, and other 24-hour hospital noise can only be detrimental to the healing process. We have to assume, though, as there is only limited research material available, and the little there is, needs to be assembled like a puzzle to form the bigger picture.

Noise Pollution Affects Healing Process