The effects of auditory interventions on pain and comfort in premature newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit; a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study investigated the effects of three auditory interventions; white noise, recorded mother's voice, and MiniMuffs, applied during a heel lance on pain and comfort in premature infants in the neonatal intensive care units. Design and methodsThis experimental, parallel, randomised controlled research was conducted in a state hospital tertiary-level neonatal intensive care unit. The sample comprised sixty-four premature infants with gestational ages of 31–36 weeks. The infants were randomly assigned to four groups: i) white noise, ii) recorded mother’s voice, iii) MiniMuffs, and iv) control. Pain and comfort of newborns were evaluated according to the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the COMFORTneo scale. Oxygen saturation, heart rate, and crying time were also measured. ResultsThe mean of oxygen saturation levels in the white noise, recorded mother's voice, and MiniMuffs group were higher than the control group. The heart rate, crying time, mean NIPS score, COMFORTneo score of the premature neonates in the white noise, recorded mother’s voice, and MiniMuffs groups were significantly lower than the control group (p < .001). ConclusionAuditory interventions used during heel lance reduce the pain and increase the comfort of the premature infants. White noise is extremely effective in preventing infants’s pain.