By Sylvia Foley, senior editor

Like many city dwellers, I often find myself battling excessive noise. My apartment is across the street from a large city park, and although I’m grateful for the greenery, in the summer my neighbors and I have to contend with the outsize noise from bandshell concerts, impromptu sidewalk parties, and ramped-up car stereos.  Frequent construction projects and an unrepentantly loud neighbor often add to this racket.  It’s caused me to lose sleep, jacked up my blood pressure, and messed with my concentration.  Indeed, when I was hospitalized with pneumonia briefly a while back, I actually found the quiet of the hospital a balm. Turns out I was lucky in that regard.

Hospitals are often noisy places.  In this month’s Patients First column, authors Kimberly N. Montague and colleagues examine the “near-constant din created by equipment, hallway traffic, and conversation” that’s common in many hospitals. They point out that […]

Maybe you have more power than you think.

By Diana Mason, AJN editor-in-chief-emeritus

I’ve been disturbed by a relative’s seeming lack of concern about his teenage son’s repeated head injuries from playing soccer. I think he doesn’t believe what I tell him about the long-term consequences of head injuries sustained in sports such as football and soccer. So brava to Jane E. Brody, the New York Times Personal Health columnist, for writing about it. She included a symptom guide that sets out what’s of concern and the importance of monitoring those with head injuries for at least 72 hours.

Every emergency room nurse and any nurse who attends youth sporting events should share this article with the parents of children who play contact or collision sports. I’m sending it to my relatives. See AJN’s article on combat-zone traumatic brain injuries for more on the topic.