The Impact of Noise on Neonates in the NICU
The environment has a huge impact on longevity and quality of life. The regulation of noise provides a promising channel for reducing newborn mortality. For efficient and healthy growth and development, neonates require adequate sleep. Infant deaths caused by unregulated sounds are caused by neurodevelopment issues caused by unrestricted exposure. This literature review will look at empirical studies and research papers on the impact of noise on neonates in the NICU. A total of ten peer-reviewed papers will be used in the study. The effect of the environmental noise on the health of mothers and neonates is pervasive and detrimental without a succinct regulation framework (Loewy et al., 2013). According to Grecco et al. (2013), the first intervention in establishing regulations that address the control of noise entails the assessment of the impact of noise on NICU babies and their mothers. Similarly, the study Effect of Noise on Neonatal Vital Data and Behavior in NICU sought to determine whether noise affects NICU babies. The success of the noise intervention requires the identification of specific actions that can be engaged to mitigate noise for the neonates (Johnson, 2014). The article Reducing Noise Level in the NICU sought to determine whether it was possible to find one method which could be used to effectively reduce noise in the NICU environment. Alternatively, Joshi & Tada (2016) had the aim of discovering the noise levels that disturbs NICU babies in a crowded hospital. The article Assessment of Sound Levels in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Tabriz, Iran sought to infer the sources and impact of noise while the Nurses’ Awareness of Preterm Neonates’ Sleep in the NICU sought to verify the hypothesis that noise, light and invasive treatment had a negative impact on the development of the NICU babies (Mahmoodi & Rezeeirpoor, 2016). Lastly, Abdeyazdan et al. (2014) based their analysis on the need to determine whether there was a difference in the use of earmuffs on premature neonates.
A Comparison of Sample Populations
Sample population provides a significant part of an empirical study. Grecco et al. (2013) used a sample of N=95 mothers in an academic hospital in Brazil to infer the implications of mothers and babies. The article Effect of Noise on Neonatal Vital Data and Behavior in NICU conducted an analysis of N=100 babies. A half of the baby sample population was shown to be pre-term. The study The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants involved a population sample of N=272 premature infants. Similarly, inquiring on the relationship between the use of silence and the use of earmuffs on premature neonates, Abdeyazdan et al. (2014) involved a total of N=96 preterm neonates. The use of preterm neonates in the studies was a reflection of the main goals of the current inquiry (Discenza, 2014). Since the study was concerned with the negative implications of a noisy environment on the development and growth of neonates, the assessment of articles involving neonates as the sample population would enable generalization of the findings (Cmiel et al., 2014). Thus, the findings would be more appropriate given the goals of the PICOT study (Valizadeh et al., 2013). The involvement of older individuals in the study might have resulted in false generalization. The older individual is able and empowered to adapt to their environments despite the shifts in the environmental conditions (Wachman & Lahay, 2011). It is therefore unlikely that the response instituted by the adult towards noise would be close to the responses given by the neonates during the premature period.
A Comparison of the Limitations of the Study
The articles used in the study projected several limitations. The first limitation involved the use of a small sample size. The sample sizes used by the articles in determining their findings ranged from N=90 to N=300 (Hassanein et al., 2013). Such a number is not enough to facilitate the successful generalization of findings on the global population. Alternatively, the inability to succinctly determine the views of the neonates on the matter renders the studies inconclusive. Essentially, the findings were predicated on the interpretations of the researchers (Slevin et al., 2014). Thus, the findings were subjective. Lastly, the limitation posed by the ethical requirement to seek permission from the relevant participants provided a significant hurdle in the study (Brown, 2012). The three limitations in the studies hinder the effective generalization of findings. Future research should be predicated on the need for the use of a larger sample population size (Knutson, 2012).
Conclusion
Noise has a negative influence on the growth and development of neonates. It can also exacerbate rates of neurological disorders in society (Slevin et al., 2014). The examined literature contends that levels of noise in the NICU affect both the mothers and neonates. Similarly, the studies emphasize that there is a need to determine effective strategies to be used in mitigating the implication of environmental noise on neonates and their mothers (Karlson et al., 2012). Some of the implications of noise on the development of neonates include unregulated weight gain and stunting of general development.
References
Abdeyazdan, Z., Ghasemi, S., Marofi, M., & Berjis, N. (2014). Motor responses and weight gaining in neonates through use of two methods of earmuff and receiving silence in NICU. The Scientific World Journal, 864780- 864780.
Brown, G. (2012). NICU noise and the preterm infant. Neonatal Network, 28(3), 165-173.
Cmiel, C. A., Karr, D. M., Gasser, D. M., Oliphant, L. M., & Neveau, A. J. (2014). Noise Control: A Nursing Team’s Approach to Sleep Promotion: Respecting the silence creates a healthier environment for your patients. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 104(2), 40-48.
Discenza, D. (2014). Reducing Noise Levels in the NICU. Neonatal Network, 33(1), 41-43.
Hassanein, S. M., El Raggal, N. M., & Shalaby, A. A. (2013). Neonatal nursery noise: practice-based learning and improvement. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 26(4), 392-395.
Johnson, A. N. (2014). Neonatal response to control of noise inside the incubator. Pediatric Nursing, 27(6), 600.
Joshi, D., & Tada, N. (2016). Analysis of noise level in neonatal intensive care unit and postnatal ward of a tertiary care hospital in an urban city. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 3(4):1358-1361.
Karlsson, B. M., Lindkvist, M., Lindkvist, M., Karlsson, M., Lundström, R., Håkansson, S., ... & van den Berg, J. (2012). Sound and vibration: effects on infants’ heart rate and heart rate variability during neonatal transport. Acta Paediatrica, 101(2), 148-154.
Knutson, A. J. (2012). Acceptable noise levels for neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Loewy, J. et al., (2013). The Effects of Music Therapy on Vital Signs, Feeding, and Sleep in Premature Infants. Pediatrics, 131(5), 171-185.
Grecco, G. M. et al., (2013). Repercussion of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit, Pediatrics and Child Health, 26(1), 14-26.
Hisham, A. A., & Ahmed, M. (2016). Effect of Noise on Neonatal Vital Data and Behavior in NICU, Clinical Medicine and Diagnostics, 6(1), 1-6.
Mahmoodi, N., et al., (2016). Nurses’ Awareness of Preterm Neonates’ Sleep in the NICU. Global Journal of Health Sciences, 8(6), 226–233.
Slevin, M., Farrington, N., Duffy, G., Daly, L., & Murphy, J. F. A. (2014). Altering the NICU and measuring infants' responses. Acta Paediatrica, 89(5), 577-581.
Valizadeh, S. et al., (2013). Assessment of Sound Levels in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Tabriz, Iran. Journal of Caring Sciences, 2(1), 19–26.
Wachman, E. M., & Lahav, A. (2011). The effects of noise on preterm infants in the NICU. Archives of Disease in Childhood-Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 96(4), F305-F309.
