Influence of Quiet Time on the Auditory Environment of Infants in the NICU.

Abstract Objective To determine the influence of quiet time on the auditory environment of infants in the NICU and to compare the effect of quiet time by room type, bed type, and infant clinical acuity. Design Cross-sectional, descriptive comparison study. Setting The auditory environments of infants in two level 3 NICUs within a pediatric hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Each NICU implemented quiet time for 4 hours per day. Methods We assessed the auditory environment of infants born at or younger than 38 weeks gestation for 48 hours using Language Environmental Analysis technology. We used paired t tests to assess differences in the auditory environment during quiet versus nonquiet time and to compare the effect of quiet time by room type, bed type, and clinical acuity. Results During quiet time, the auditory environment of participants had 13% more silence, 17% fewer electronic sounds, 25% less speech, and 30% fewer words than during nonquiet time. We observed greater differences in quiet time versus nonquiet time for infants in open bays and incubators and infants who had greater acuity. Conclusion Our results support the implementation of quiet time to increase silence and reduce exposure to electronic sounds for infants in the NICU. Additional research is necessary to further examine the effect of quiet time on the auditory environment of infants in the NICU with consideration of environmental and clinical variables.