The purpose of this study was to compare sound levels and sound sources in hospitals in Japan and Europe. Data was gathered in 6 hospitals in Japan and 2 hospitals in Germany. Sound levels were measured for 24-hours, and the L_(Aeq, 10 min) was also calculated every 30 minutes. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with inpatients and medical staffs. The following results were obtained: (1) There was little difference in sound levels between the two countries, (2) Principal sound sources were conversations and staff work in corridors. The levels of these sounds need to be reduced. On the other hand, temporal changes of L_(Aeq, 10 min) in Japanese hospitals were smaller than those in Germany. The percentage of questionnaire survey respondents who rated "opening and closing doors" as satisfactory or a little satisfactory was comparatively low in Germany. A reason for this result is that the doors of patient rooms are mostly open in Japan. Different tendencies between the two countries can be seen in the percentage of time when inpatients suffered from noise.
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