Do you know the side effects of noise?

Working with chronic exposure to as little as 68-70 decibels can have an effect on staff members, according to Michael Buelow, RN, CEN, an ED nurse at InteliStaf, a staff relief agency in Phoenix. Consider the following:

— Physiological effect:

• hearing loss.

— Psychological effects:

• decrease in problem-solving ability;
• decrease in frustration tolerance;
• decline in mathematical abilities;
• decrease in altruistic behavior and sensitivity to others;
• hindered work efficiency;
• diminished worker effectiveness;
• reduced accuracy of work;
• irritability, anxiety, and sleep loss.

— Secondary physiological effects:

• release of adrenocorticosteroids, epinephrine, and norepinephrine;
• peripheral blood vessel constriction;
• changes in heart rate;
• increased cerebral blood flow;
• galvanic skin response;
• increase in skeletal muscle tension;
• increase in blood cortisol and cholesterol;
• ulcers;
• increased susceptibility to disease and infection;
• complicating factor in heart disease;
• implicated in headaches and fatigue.