Speaker
Description
Environmental noise in intensive care units remains a persistent challenge, with implications for patient recovery, staff performance, and communication. While ICU noise is often characterised using aggregated measurements, less attention has been given to spatial variability within functional care zones. This study presents a fourteen -day continuous acoustic measurement comparing sound exposure at two representative ICU locations; a patient bedside and a nurse station. Equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (LAeq) and maximum fast time-weighted sound pressure levels (LAFmax) were analysed to characterise background acoustic conditions and transient peak noise events. Spatial and temporal comparisons were performed to investigate differences in average exposure, variability, and the occurrence of high-level events across day and night periods. Preliminary findings indicate distinct acoustic profiles between the two monitoring locations, with differences observed not only in average sound levels but also in the frequency and magnitude of transient events. These results demonstrate the importance e of spatially resolved monitoring for capturing acoustic variability in critical care units and suggest that localised noise dynamics should be considered in acoustic assessment and targeted noise mitigation strategies.