Healthcare acoustic & ceiling
Understanding Health Care Acoustics:
Many sounds are present in hospital environment, including those from beepers, alarms, machines, rolling carts, and conversations, among other sources. These can be severely irritating and at times harmful to patients; depending on their current conditions (i.e., age, hearing ability, medication intake, cultural background, and pre-existing fears and anxieties). Acoustics in healthcare environments are complex and require a careful, strategic design. Specific acoustical considerations in healthcare settings include supporting patient well-being and privacy. Acoustics are now a key component of healthcare design guidelines; many studies identifying design strategies to improve acoustical conditions in healthcare environments have been conducted; and medical facilities have taken initiatives to improve their acoustic environments.
Improving Health Care Acoustics:
Creating a comfortable acoustic environment in healthcare environments can play an important role in supporting safety, health, healing, and well-being for all occupants. After acoustical ceiling panels replaced the existing sound reflective ceiling tiles in the main work area and patient rooms in a Swedish hospital, nurses reported lower work demands and less pressure and strain during their afternoon shift (the noisiest shift studied). Acoustical ceiling panel systems can reduce reverberation times and increase speech intelligibility, potentially improving the psychosocial work environment for PCTs.
How to select the best acoustic option:
Selecting the appropriate ceiling for spaces in healthcare environments is important in creating the appropriate speech privacy level. Oftentimes, different ceilings are needed in different areas. When selecting a ceiling, consider to what degree noises need to be absorbed, blocked, and/or covered (i.e., masked), considering what space and logistical considerations permit, incorporate a suspended acoustical ceiling system with sound-absorbing ceiling tiles to promote a satisfactory acoustic environment. When this is not possible or feasible, consider mounting sound absorbing panels directly onto the ceiling and upper walls, as this may still provide significant noise reduction. Specify fabric-wrapped wall panels in non-clinical areas of a hospital where regular cleaning is not required, as they are from common activities in healthcare environments, especially in large areas where noise tends to build up more effective and less costly than panels that are encapsulated in film. Install sound-absorbing wall materials perpendicular to each other to reduce flutter echoes in spaces where they may cause problems (e.g., conference rooms). Specify surface-mounted, one-inch thick wall panels or other sound-absorbing wall materials with an NRC of 0.80 or more to effectively absorb noise.
Kindly use the simulator below to crack the optimum value according to the dimensions of your space and the products to be used. You can also avail our consultancy services for the best recommendation of products to be used.
