Exposure to noise during neonatal transport and its impact on hearing | Article

for neonatal and paediatric healthcare professionals

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Keywords

neonatal paediatric transport; ambulance; noise exposure; hearing loss; occupational health

Key points

Noise exposure and impact on hearing was assessed in babies transferred by the West of Scotland Neonatal Transport team over a period of 18 months.
No hearing loss was demonstrated following inter-hospital transfer; however, noise reduction is still required and chronic noise exposure is still of concern.

Also published in Infant:

VOLUME 6/ISSUE 6, NOVEMBER 2010

Occupational noise exposure to a dedicated neonatal transport team

Neonatal transport services are a new service provision within the UK NHS. This study assesses the noise exposure to staff working in a neonatal transport service. As with any new service provision, new developments bring new challenges, one of which being the health and safety of the personnel. Staff frequently reported temporary hearing impairment and tinnitus post transfer. This study assesses the noise exposure of a neonatal transport team and compares this exposure to legal limits.