Examining Noise Exposure in a Busy Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic
A sound survey conducted during 420 pediatric otolaryngology clinic visits to a tertiary care facility in Houston sheds a first light on the level of noise to which pediatric ENTs are exposed. The results of the study, conducted from January to March 2022, suggest that while clinicians are not exposed to levels considered an occupational risk for noise-induced hearing loss, they are subjected to levels linked to stress, poor productivity, and stress-related disorders.
“Our objective was to quantify the noise exposure, which previously had not been studied,” says Zhen “Jane” Huang, MD, MBA, CPO, an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and an author of the article published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology. “From experience we know that we are exposed to considerable noise, especially while performing invasive procedures on children, who tend to be louder patients than adults.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers acoustic exposure of 90 decibels an occupational risk for noise-induced hearing loss. At each clinic visit, the researchers measured noise using a calibrated National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Sound Meter application, with an iPad and microphone. The iPad position was stationary during all visits, 409 of which were included in the study. The average equivalent continuous sound pressure level was 61.1 decibels (dB), and the average peak sound pressure level was 80.5 dB. Only a small proportion of visits registered above 80 dB, but 51% were above 60 dB and 99% were above 45 dB.
“Patients younger than 10 years of age and those who undergo procedures such as cerumen removal expose us to higher levels of noise, but in our study no clinicians were exposed to noise exceeding established limits of safety,” Dr. Huang says.
Ahmad JG, Allen DZ, Erickson S, Hasan S, Shenouda M, Jiang ZY, Huang Z, Yuksel S, Roy S. Noise exposure in a pediatric otolaryngology clinic: A sound survey of a single-institution tertiary care facility. Am J Otolaryngol. 2023 Jul-Aug;44(4):103913.