Gyllensten and teammates studied, via interviews, employee perceptions of soundscapes in communication-intense workplaces, those in healthcare environments and at preschools. They learned that “The dependence on vocal communication and social interaction poses a challenge using hearing protection in these working environments. . . . Workers in communication-intense workplaces in preschools, obstetrics care and intensive care reported that there was a relationship between the sound environment and negative health effects. . . . Many sounds that could be described as loud or disturbing also provided important and meaningful information to the participants and guided them to some sort of action. For example, preschool teachers explained that they needed to be constantly attentive to sounds, in order to be aware of what was going on among the children. Having to be constantly alert and not being able to ‘turn off’ the listening was viewed as demanding. . . . Noise at the workplace was causing stress, and stressful working conditions were making the noise more difficult to handle.”
Kristina Gyllensten, Sofie Fredriksson, Stephen Widen, and Kerstin Waye. 2023. “The Experience of Noise in Communication-Intense Workplaces: A Qualitative Study.” PLoS One, vol. 18, no. 1, e0280241, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280241