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Use Of Hearing Protection In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence, Nathalie Chouery, Kathleen T. Dunckley

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings present neonates with many environmental hazards, including exposure to dangerous sound intensity levels. Noise levels in NICUs worldwide overwhelmingly exceed the recommendations for safe exposure by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Environmental modifications and staff behavioral changes have proved ineffective to sufficiently reduce infant noise exposure. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to answer if earmuffs improves physiologic stability, behavioral response, and sleep behavior, which are markers of stress response in NICU patients. Seven databases were searched for pertinent records using a specific search protocol. Seven studies met the review’s inclusion criteria …