Day care centers
Published in the “Capital Santé’’ magazine (sept 2001)
Worrisome results:

Summer of 1998, Michel Picard  Audiology  teacher at L’Université de Montréal, visits 25 day care centers in the vicinity of his office. In each one he takes a sound measure three times during the day; at their arrival, during a planned activity and then during lunch.  Surprise! For all of the visited centers, the level of noise went from 66 decibels or dB (which corresponds to a loud voice) to 94,6 dB( the noise heard in a Discotheque). It is a lot.  Didn’t The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that 85 dB is 10 dB too much?

To prevent loss of hearing related to work, the World Health Organization (WHO) states we shouldn’t be exposed to more than 75 dB for more than 8 hours; a typical days work.

Audititory injuries?

If workers exposed to high pitch noises end up with deafness problems, could children exposed  to a similar situation over long periods of time risk suffering the same problem? In Mr. Picard s point of view, day care centers may not cause deafness, but the children’s exposure to noise along with other noise exposures during childhood could lead to auditory problems at adulthood. To support his views, Mr. Picard cites two epidemiological studies done in the United States in the 1990’s.

Another worrying fact: Children would be more sensitive to noise than adults. ‘’ Studies that we have done show that for children to be at ease in a classroom, the noise level must be maintained between 25 and 40 dB’’.  Since this is far from being excessive it would brings us to believe that  noise is more disturbing to children than adults.

And communication?

Another sad fact: There is always racket in many day care centers. “Before getting there, we knew it would be noisy but not all the time says Mr.Picard”. The noise never goes short of 50dB (the equivalent of a human voice in a normal conversation. However, if the noise is constant, there can’t be any real communication.  Worse, still, it appears that children because of the noise will only hear part of the message that is transmitted to them. “ In another similar situation, an adult will guess the missing elements but not a young child, states Mr.Picard.”

Another cause of preoccupation: noise has physiological side effects. “It is known, that noise contributes in increasing the heart rhythm and is an important stress factor”states Mrs Monique Buignet, psychologist at the Clinique de la migraine de St-Jérôme.   “Exposed individuals are more anxious, more nervous, more hyper and more aggressive than others”.

Iso Énergie have the solution for problems with sound reverberation

The day care center Bottines Filantes, on Christophe-Colomb street in Montreal had an enormous problem with sound reverberation and very quickly got to feel the outcome: workers were experiencing head aches and some children were becoming aggressive.  The manager, then advised the workers to contact their union.  “They came to measure the noise and during some period of the day it was between 74 and 98dB( the equivalent of a telephone ring up to the noise of a plane).  We were thus recommended to have the necessary work done”.

The manager contacts our firm Iso Energie inc. acoustic specialists. It is a real challenge, as we are unable to install an absorbent material on the floor because of the children and for hygiene reasons walls cannot be covered with fabric.

Our specialist finally proposes Basotect, a 1 ½ inch melamine foam manufactured in Montreal.  This foam is covered with vinyl and punctured with tiny wholes (since vinyl is not an absorbent matter) enabling the sound to penetrate the foam.

Basotech was installed on the ceiling and on two walls of each room.  When there are two facing walls, it is important that one of them be covered with an absorbent material.  Since, the noise was considerably reduced and a major change in the behavior of the children and workers noticed.

Since then, our specialist has solved many noise problems and here are some of the day care centers as reference:

CPE Le Poussineau at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, 114 acoustic panels installed,

CPE Les petits travailleurs at Montréal-Nord, 39 acoustic panels,

CPE ST-ÉDOUARD, at Montréal, more than 215 panels,

C.P.E. Au Petit Caroussel at Pierrefond, 51 acoustic panels,

And many more references available on request.

We also hereby take this opportunity to thank them for their trust.
 

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