When sound becomes noise

 
In a presentation at an Australian Association of Gerontology conference1, I spoke about one of my research studies where noise was a frequently occurring element to be considered when undertaking minor refurbishments2.  Being profoundly deaf, I could actually relate to some of the issues associated with noise that were identified. The difference between me and most older people living in residential aged care is that I can control my exposure or response to the noise. So many of our seniors cannot…   

Reduced ability to hear or interpret sounds can mean that excess noise can be distressing for residents and result in confusion or communication problems3.  Noise can also impact on people’s health, quality of life and function4,5.

What can be done to address noise?

·         Ceiling and wall acoustic products

·         Window treatments

·         Soft furnishings

·         Scheduling noisy tasks such as vacuuming to specific times of the day

·         Provide intimate and quiet spaces at the facility

·         Small dining room configurations

·         Turning off televisions if people are not watching them

·         Provision of headsets for people who require louder volumes to hear

My colleague from British Columbia in Canada, Bill Benbow, has made his evidence based noise checklist available for anyone to use.  Click the link below:

http://wabenbow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Lighting-and-Noise-Compressed.pdf

 

 References

1.       Neylon, S. (2018). What could future refurbishment of aged care facilities look like? Australian Association of Gerontology 51st Conference.  Melbourne, Australia.

2.       Neylon, S., Bulsara, C., & Hill, A-M. (2019). Improving Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Review of Minor Refurbishment Elements. Journal of Housing for the Elderly. doi: 10.1080/02763893.2018.1561591

3.       Bakker, R. (2003). Sensory loss, dementia, and environments. Generations, 27(1), 46-51

4.       Garre-Olmo, J., López-Pousa, S., Turon-Estrada, A., Juvinyà, D., Ballester, D., & Vilalta-Franch, J. (2012). Environmental determinants of quality of life in nursing home residents with severe dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 60(7), 1230-1236. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04040.x

5.       Leung, M.-y., Chan, I. Y. S., & Olomolaiye, P. (2013). Relationships between facility management, risks and health of elderly in care and attention homes. Facilities, 31(13/14), 659-680. doi:10.1108/f-10-2011-0080

 

 

KnowledgeAmy Bosnar