Decibel levels in various settings range from 40
dB in a quiet room to the 130 dB of a pneumatic
drill. In the workplace concerns arise with exposure
to continuous sounds at levels above 80 dB. NICUs
have been associated with elevated noise levels
(Blackburn & VandenBerg, 1993). There are two
patterns of noise in NICU, continuous and peak
noise. The continuous pattern of NICU sounds is
referred to as background noise. Superimposed on
these background noises are peak noises. Ambient
sound levels in the NICU have been reported to range from 50 to 90 dB, with peak noises up to 120
or more dB (Lotas, 1992; Thomas, 1989). High
background noise may interfere with an infant's
ability to discriminate speech, an important early
step in language acquisition.