What if the sound environment changed in hospitals? Replacing the annoying “beeps” of alarms with distinct, more pleasant sounds would make them more identifiable.
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In emergency rooms or intensive care units, the atmosphere is filled with the sounds of alarm signals which can be quite stressful, day or night. A study looks at the idea of recomposing them to make them more bearable, and even more useful. This would involve assigning a different instrument sound per constant: a bass string for heart rate, a light guitar chord for oxygen saturation, and xylophone for blood pressure. When all goes well, the whole thing would produce rather harmonious music, more pleasant for the staff on a daily basis. Then, as soon as a constant panicked, the sound of the instrument would become more and more acute, constituting a perceptible alarm through this change. If the harmony changes and disharmony arises, something is wrong.
Create a more relaxing background noise
The objective is to reduce the fatigue and stress of patients, but especially of staff, by modifying their background noise. Exhausted staff may take longer to react or even not hear an alarm amid this chorus of sound signals.
For now, this is just research, as alarm tones are set by an international standard. Its last update was in 2020. At the time, it introduced new sounds optional. For example, heartbeats instead of beeps for heartbeat. A new revision is in progress. Maybe she’ll add instruments and melodies.
