Purpose for the program: Multiple studies have shown that excessive noise impacts neurodevelopment in babies.  Our Clinical excellence committee wanted to explore the noise levels in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Our findings were that our levels exceeded recommended levels.  Based on these findings, we felt that changes needed to be made.

Proposed change: We provided education on the effects of excess noise on neonates to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit staff.  We implemented noise reduction strategies in an attempt to decrease our overall noise level.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:  Our clinical excellence committee presented education on the effects of excess noise with the support of hospital leadership.  Education included presentations in unit meetings as well as poster presentations.  Specific noise reduction strategies were proposed by the clinical excellence committee and agreed upon by staff.  Strategies were implemented by staff and follow-up monitoring was completed to assess effectiveness. 

Implications for nursing practice: Research has shown that “the immediate effects of elevated  levels of sound show that environmental noise can be a major source of stressful stimulation, can cause agitation and bring about complications in the medical management of the neonate.”  Heightened awareness of the effects of noise in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit promotes an optimal environment for positive developmental outcomes.

Keywords: noise, neurodevelopment, neonate, NICU