Sound Masking

A simple solution is sound masking.   Instead of covering noisy distractions for the sake of  productivity, a church or worship facility could use sound masking technology to provide speech privacy.   Whether it’s a counseling session or an awkward telephone conversation, every conversation can be protected from the wrong ears.  Sound masking introduces low-level background noise to cover conversations for the purposes of speech privacy.  Speech privacy is not a matter of opinion- it is actually measurable and can be achieved.  This background noise is white noise introduced through speakers in the ceiling tiles.  Those speakers are pre-tuned and provide consistent private and confidential coverage to any treated area.  As a result, no one has to look over his (or her) shoulder during a conversation- and that feeling of trust should always accompany a church.

Possible Applications

There are many areas in worship facilities that could benefit from sound masking.  Here are just a few:

• Counseling
• Private telephone conversations
• Divorce Care classes
• AA meetings
• Staff discussions

What does it mean to protect information in today’s marketplace? We think about firewalls to guard digital information and locked cabinets to store printed records, but often overlook the necessity of safe-guarding conversations. Speech privacy is the act of protecting private information passed through verbal communication. While this is easier when there are walls and closed doors, in open office plans and reception areas this is most effectively done through the use of sound masking technology. Here are some of the compelling situations needing speech privacy:

Business Clients

Whether on the phone or in person, many businesses communicate sensitive information about their clients on a daily basis. This requires utmost diligence by the business or organization to protect this personal and sensitive information. Financial, personal, and medical privacy is strictly regulated by law. These laws govern printed information, network security for digital data storage, and even the verbal communication of private information.

Trade Secrets

In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, businesses exert significant care to protect  company specific information that provides an advantage over its competitors, whether about a product, a process, or even a compilation of information. Almost every industry, from finance to medicine or manufacturing to social services, is compelled to use all reasonable means available to protect company information.

Medical Facilities

A 2005 study at Johns Hopkins University found that hospital noise increased by almost 30 percent and these levels have continued to climb since. While this obviously creates an uncomfortable experience for patients, even more importantly are the HIPAA compliance problems that accompany a noisy facility.

Eliminating Eavesdropping

Companies go to great lengths to secure the digital transmission and storage of information. But the further step of achieving voice privacy in the work place is essential. The Regus Group found in a recent study that that 59% of business professional had eavesdropped on other people’s conversations, and that 19% used the information they overheard.

The current trends of open office space and mass communication can help build better collaboration, but also allows for deliberate or accidental eavesdropping. It is imperative that managers find cost-effective means to safeguard sensitive conversations in the workplace. Today’s sound masking technology can provide better speech privacy at affordable prices.

You'd be surprised how much a chatty child can tell you.

Last week my husband and I had to visit our local bank to switch over our accounts.  For whatever reason, they asked us both to come in, which meant our 3 and 5 year olds got to come, too.  In all honesty, the bankers bent over backwards to help keep the kids occupied while we discussed various account options.

It was while my daughter volunteered that we had recently had a robbery and moved flats and had a new phone number while providing explicit details that I realized how vulnerable we are in these kinds of institutions. We answer almost all questions aimed at us, including very private, and in this case financially related, information such as social security numbers, addresses, phone number, birthdays, passwords, etc.

I checked my surroundings as I answered questions and was surprised at the safe guards this this little bank had actually taken.  While we were not in a private office, we were tucked in a back corner, away from general traffic.  There was a little piece of privacy glass that housed us as we chatted.  Lastly, there was a low hum like that of an HVAC system.  The result of the noise was that passers-by weren’t able to easily overhear our conversation {which is a good thing since they would have been privy to the knowledge that we frequently forget to lock our doors, thus inviting thieves}.

Anyway, I didn’t really care if passers-by saw me…what I cared about was that they didn’t hear me.  Actually hearing me speak was fine- hearing what I was saying is another matter altogether.  Confidentiality needs are where sound masking is a great asset.  That low-level whooshing sound was white noise, what sound masking technology uses.  The whole idea is to provide a small sound to cover conversation.  Passers-by probably know that you are speaking, but are unable to discern what you are saying.  And voila- confidentiality ensured…even with a chatty 5 year old!

Sound masking systems provide speech privacy so that conversations are protected and confidential.

I found a certian Facebook thread rather interesting today:

I love it when people talk loudly about their personal lives in public places… so entertaining!

{in response} It makes for some great entertainment!

{in response} I don’t think I’m overly loud but I’ve definitely caught myself wondering if people could hear me a couple of times…

These were just a couple of friends chatting online, but it caught my attention nonetheless.  These girls are just playing around, eavesdropping for fun and really at no one’s real risk, other than a little embarrassment.  It did lead me to wonder about more serious conversations, such at those at a business level.  I thought of my parents who are realtors and have to discuss bids and negotiation points in front of other realtors and potentially their clients.  I thought of policy makers and those in control of national security.  None of those would be silly, coffee shop chatter.  Rather, there would be a real risk if overheard.

Whether it’s a proposal, a policy, or a plan of attack, both government officials and military personnel need to have the ability to discuss such matters without whispering or looking over their shoulders. Sound masking provides the confidential privacy they need, without adding walls or visible boundaries.

Privacy Index

Safeguarding confidential matters is more than just a desire- it is a necessity. Whether it’s a dream, a discussion, or a decision, some conversations are better left said, but unheard. With the precise technology of sound masking, your business remains your business.

Interestingly, satisfied patients feel less stressed and therefore give less stress to medical staff, who then make fewer errors and thus more profit to the overall facility.  Furthermore, satisfied patients are far more likely to share their happy experiences positively in your favor rather than as enemies who would never refer their friends and family to your practice or hospital.  In fact, Press Ganey found that “Hospitals with patient satisfaction in the 90th percentile experienced nearly a 1/3 increase in patient volume—or, on average, an additional 1,382 patients per year.” The exact opposite was true for hospitals with low patient satisfaction- as many as 2,600 patients sought other providers.

Waiting rooms are hard enough without worrying about confidentiality.

One major problem is sound leakage.  Many patients feel quite vulnerable in a medical facility because of how much they hear in the waiting room and what they fear other hear in it.   As a result of feeling exposed, they seek other facilities.

Sound Masking & How it Works
Perception is everything, and your patients need to feel valued and important enough that you took the proper steps to safeguard both their records and their conversations. Those steps include sound masking. Rather than re-design your entire office or hospital, you can install a simple, but effective sound masking system.  This type of technology uses white noise to add a low-level background sound to a room or office.  This low-level noise fills in the spectrum of sound so as to render speech unintelligible or even unnoticed.   And while this sound is loud enough to be effective, it is also quiet enough not to be annoying itself.

Instead of tearing out, replacing, or re-designing your medical facility, a sound masking system can offer a nearly invisible solution to customer dissatisfaction.

Have you ever been to a doctor’s office and felt like your entire history was on display for others?  Whether it was the kinds of questions you had to answer at the reception desk or just that the walls were paper thin and all that should have been private just wasn’t.  The fact of the matter is that no one is trying to listen to all your medical woes and concerns, or even your good news.  However, it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in a doctor’s office or waiting room if certain measures aren’t taken.  It may seem that these confidentiality leaks are an inevitable part of of medical care, but after 5 years of taking my own children in and out of well and sick baby checks, as well as my own pregnancy visits, here are my tips for better protection.

Tips for Privacy in Medical Facilities

• Close exam room doors when patients are inside them.  This will protect patient’s own experiences as they talk with doctors and will simultaneously protect them from outside conversations, or noises in the case of my son.
• Close off the waiting room from the exam rooms, if possible.  The doors are there for a reason.  Most people with children in the waiting room have sick kids who are quite miserable, which usually equates to a whole lot of loud crying, which can really freak out waiting children.
• Practice common courtesy in discussing a patient’s concerns in front of other patients.  Most do not want their medical histories or concerns aired out in front of a captive audience.  Wait until you are behind closed doors.
• Install sound masking.  It’s a simple application of white noise that will ensure privacy for all involved.  Sound masking is by far the most effective means of improving speech privacy.

So, if you’re a doctor or medical professional, please respect your patients’ rights to privacy.  It may not seem like a big deal to you, but their visits are very involve personal details, and most would like to keep them private by means of sound masking and courteous care.

A few weeks ago, my throat was aching so badly that I actually went in to an after-hours clinic to see what they could do for me…on Easter Sunday.  I am just into my second trimester of my third pregnancy, so I’m not sure what I thought they could do.  Apparently nothing.  But that is beside the point.  As I was sitting there for well over an hour, I saw and heard many things, many of which were personal or unpleasant.  Every patient was called by full name and some were sent back out to the waiting room restrooms to supply urine or vomit samples.  I’m not kidding.  My husband and I played a game in which we guessed who was there for what.  Some come as moral support, or as a parent, but no one is at an after-hours clinic on a holiday for a well visit.  As such, we tried to figure out who was the patient and why they were there.  Not only did we get full names, we also saw who came back out for those samples.

That’s when I started to feel bad for people- I knew I was only there for a sore throat.  However, when a young mother came out with a urine-filled plastic cup, one could only guess she was taking a pregnancy test.  At the same time, what business is it of ours if she was pregnant or if she was at the clinic for another reason altogether.  Interestingly, I saw an acquaintance of mine pass through as she was calling patients and we shared an awkward wave.  I wondered to myself if she would wonder if something was amiss with my pregnancy.  Regardless, I started thinking about privacy and confidentiality.  It’s the nature of a clinic to have a communal waiting room and to call people by name.  However, I do wonder if there’s some way to protect our personal matters more?

Privacy Measures We Can Take

That’s what I love about sound masking- often thought of in terms of reducing distraction and boosting productivity, sound masking is a formidable solution for privacy leaks as well.  Hundreds of businesses, medical facilities, and even government agencies take advantage of sound masking in their quest for reducing breaks in confidentiality.

Had sound masking and more thoughtful planning been employed in this clinic, we would have been left with our guesses, but not been privy to personal details that might be embarrassing to some.

It doesn’t matter that this is my third pregnancy- as much of a seasoned pro as I feel like I should be, I’m back to square one on morning sickness.  I’m not sure why I even google remedies for it- I already know them all and that they don’t work…not for me anyway.  Blurg.

Moving on, it’s hard sometimes to remember that the reason I am feeling so awful is due to the miraculous formation of a new life, my third child.  Even in the doctor’s office, I forget why I am there.  I usually cram myself in to what would have normally been a perfectly comfortable chair but during this 13-week duration of my life is now unreasonably stiff.  Before my name is called, I feel the need to run to the bathroom- unfortunately, the bathroom is a mere 3 feet from the rest of the stiff chairs housing other innocent by-standers.  Bless their hearts, they must have heard every heave I made, including some rather grotesque moments.  I was embarrassed to walk out, much less hear my name called out in front of everyone else.  As I did finally exit the restroom, I kept my eyes downcast and squeezed back onto the chair until my name was called.  When I was pouring out my heart and trying not to cry from discomfort and feelings of inadequacy, I found myself wondering again who was privy to my inner workings.

Lack of Privacy

Lack of privacy in medical facilities and doctor’s offices just like this is common.  Many patients (like myself) feel that while doctors are held by law to safeguard conversations, they can’t be held responsible for noise leaks through walls.  However, if doctors would like to satisfy their patients’ concerns, a simple sound masking system would resolve the majority of these issues.  Sound masking is the use of white noise to cover, or mask, unwanted sound.  It can be used to help workers tune out distractions, and in this case it can be used to safeguard confidential conversations.

Patients in medical facilities would love to know that their private concerns are kept just that- private.  When it comes to confidentiality, sound masking is the most effective means of protecting doctor-patient conversations.

I have been a church attender my entire life.  Since I married my husband, I have even been a pastor’s wife for a good number of years, which has opened the inner workings of the church to me in a whole new light.  Fear not, I am not disenchanted with the church, much to the contrary.  However, I have now seen the church in many lights, including a normal attender, a college student, a pastor’s wife, a parent, a play group attender, and a “counselor.”  Each role has shown me the scope and breadth of what a {good} church should offer, which is so much more than a Sunday morning service.  From counseling sessions to equipped nurseries to dynamic Bible studies and speakers to weekly services, most churches offer a variety of things for a variety of people.

Sound Travels

It's hard to enjoy the choir when you're worried your baby is going to wake up.

This all sounds good until you realize how it sounds….loud.  {pun definitely intended}  It’s difficult to focus on the message when you hear babies screaming down the hall in nursery.  It’s even harder when you recognize that little voice as your own baby wailing.  The same is true on the flip side when a Bible study is meeting next door to band practice or even the worship service itself.  Or what about all the counseling that goes on within the doors of a church- there may not be the same feeling of distraction, but there is certainly a concern for privacy and confidentiality because most assume that what they say will not only stay within the confines of those walls, but also not be overheard by anyone else, including staff and passers-by.

Sound Masking for Churches

Reducing distraction and increasing speech privacy {or at least attaining it in the first place!} are two  very good reasons to equip churches with sound masking.  Sound masking is the use of low-level white noise through speakers in the ceiling that provides a background hum that enables/forces the brain to tune out individual speech patterns or noises.  The result is a reduction in distraction and the attainment of speech privacy- ie fewer people are distracted by noise, while those who seek confidentiality get it.

Sound masking is a reasonable noise solution, given that it reduces distraction levels, as well as achieves speech privacy- plus, it can be installed in any building- new or exititng!

Last time we talked about how sound masking achieves confidential privacy after a quick review of what sound masking is in and of itself, and even in conjunction with other techniques.

It’s easy to see how “tuning out” noise can boost productivity; seeing how it aides in confidential privacy might not be as simple.  Of course the same principles are still true.  However, it’s important to note that while the brain “tunes out” noise with the addition of white noise, it also is unable to decipher specific speech.  This unintelligibility of speech is howspeech privacy is achieved.  Sound masking provides a high level of speech privacy, thus ensuring confidentiality in any treated area.

The main idea was that sound masking renders speech unintelligible and on the speech privacy index, that measures out to provide confidential privacy.  This is great news because it means that a relatively inexpensive technology to install and maintain is an easy solution for sound leaks.  Plus, there’s no need to remodel, add walls, or change your aesthetic appeal because the emitters are installed within the ceiling tiles, and are thus, quite invisible from the office view point.

Why you need confidential privacy

Now that we’ve established what sound masking is and how it aides in providing speech privacy, let’s chat about why you might benefit from confidential privacy.  While not all businesses or companies do require confidentiality, many do.  It may not be life or death (although it could be), but a sound leak in any direction could spell disaster for the life of a business.  Consider whether what is discussed in board meetings, on the phone, behind closed, doors, between colleagues, with clients, with patients, with medical staff, etc. is suitable for anyone passing by to hear.  If the answer is no, then you need to safeguard those conversations and that information.

It’s easy, fast, and highly effective, and you aren’t alone.  There are thousands of companies or organizations like yours that have already benefited from this technology.