The goal of this descriptive quantitative study is to assess the noise environment and the noise perception of the nursing team and administrative staff in the emergency room. Fifty-nine professionals participated in the study: 38 professionals were from the nursing team and 21 professionals were from the administrative staff. Noise perception was obtained by a questionnaire. To evaluate noise level, a calibrated Bruel and Kjaer 2230 Integrating Sound Level Meter was used. Results showed that both teams perceived to be more exposed to biological, ergonomic, and accident hazards than to physical hazards. Noise was spontaneously mentioned as a physical hazard by 8.4% of the participants. The most reported health problems by the professionals were fatigue, stress, anxiety, and irritability. The professionals correlated these health problems with occupational reasons, rather than as extra occupational reasons. Noise levels measured [e.g., ranging from 56.6 dB(A) to 68.8 dB(A)]. Nursing professionals can better identify noise produced by equipment, while the administrative staff can better identify noise produced by people (which really bothered them). The afternoon shift is the noisiest shift. Only the administrative staff reported having concentration and communication difficulties because of noise. The nursing team stated that they produced noise that may bother others, whereas the administrative staff denied this fact. Study participants perceive emergency settings as noisy. Nursing professionals are more disturbed by noise. Administrative staff report having difficulty in performing tasks because of noise.
