Why the study?
Does noise generated during major orthopaedic surgery pose a hazard to patients?
Does noise generated during major orthopaedic surgery pose a hazard to patients?
Major orthopaedic surgery generates peak noise levels exceeding 100 dB(A), suggesting a need for ear protection for patients to prevent inner ear damage.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support ear protection in orthopaedic surgery; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective confirmation before practice change.
Potentially hazardous noise levels are generated in the course of major orthopaedic surgery. The risk to staff is probably real but very small. We used a sound level meter to record maximum and mean levels and found peak values which exceeded 100 dB(A). If sustained, there is a possibility of significant inner ear damage and perhaps permanent troublesome tinnitus, especially among elderly and already hearing-impaired patients. This could be eliminated by the use of ear defenders or disposable earplugs.
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Nott et al. (2003) studied this question.
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