I read a story about a woman who was sued by her neighbor because the "flushing of her toilet, running up and down the stairs, banging doors shut, and other household noises including ironing (what?!?)" were such a nuisance that eviction was being threatened. Talk about thin walls...the apartment resident did confess to double-flushing after each toilet use! And the sound of ironing clothes?-whoa!, she must have used too much starch! Yikes!

Well, I do believe this is a bit extreme don't ya think?, but allegedly the complainant indicated she suffered from mental health problems because of the "noise"...wow, how do you balance the "rights" of both tenants?

Seriously though, when patients are under our care and need a quiet environment for healing, it is a challenge to control the noise of an acute care facility, even at night...how do you balance the needs of providing the services, which inevitably create some "noise" and yet provide a "peaceful night's rest"? Well, it's just plain ole tricky...it's just some good courtesy principles when possible: try to cohort interventions to allow periods of respite inbetween, close the room-door if appropriate and safe, dim the lights, use a softened tone when speaking...and...NO IRONING!