Nurses’ exposure to noise may play a part in their overall health and potential to burn out at work, the results of a new study suggest.
The researchers reviewed a prior study of 3,800 nurses who were asked about their general exposure to noise. The original study did not distinguish between workplace noise levels and noise elsewhere in the nurses’ lives, but the new analysis found that high noise levels were linked to a number of chronic health issues.
Among the respondents, 7% experienced high noise exposure. Most of these respondents were younger nurses or in clinical practice. These nurses were more likely to also report having health issues such as hypertension, heart disease, depression and anxiety than the other respondents. They also reported more occupational stress, lower supportive work environments and higher burnout, according to the investigators.
“The findings were not surprising, given that relationships between health problems and high noise exposures are well-documented in the scientific literature,” study lead Marjorie McCullagh, of the University of Michigan School of Nursing, said.
Back problems, smoking
Other key findings included a significant positive relationship between noise exposure and neuromuscular and/or back problems. In addition, nurses who smoked either at home or on the job had higher levels of noise exposure.
The results also raise questions about whether the noise exposure “contributes to professional quality of life, burnout and work stress, or whether perhaps nurses seek noise activities as a release from work-related stressors,” McCullagh said.
The investigators recommended that occupational nurses compare workplace noise to OSHA permissible levels and advocate to maintain proper levels.
The study was published in Workplace Health & Safety.
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