A Risk of Sensory Deprivation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(14)00112-7/fulltext
Alan. H. Jobe.

Sound Exposures in NICU:
...........The appropriate emphasis on sound abatement in the new or renovated NICU should be on background noise, alarm noise, and other non-human noises that can startle and disrupt sleep of the preterm.¹³ However, the focus on noise abatement has morphed into a goal of silence in the NICU with exclusion of staff talk and lively discussions on work rounds. The result may be a severe limitation of the exposure of the vulnerable developing auditory cortex to human voices and sounds that are necessary for language development. This delay in language development for infants in single rooms is just what was observed by the Pineda article.³ In contrast, the open ward better reflects the fetal environment with human sounds and activities.

Light Exposures in NICU:
......... Circadian rhythms regulate more than sleep cycles, and there is minimal research to explore other potential effects of light on the preterm infant. Accepting that the fetus has a circadian rhythm and the dark-exposed preterm infant does not, the conservative approach to exposure of the preterm infant to light would be cycling of dim light sufficient for care at night to brighter light during the day. The covering of the isolettes with blankets continuously seems to be questionable because visual development requires light exposure. The biology suggests that judicious light exposure is appropriate until more is known about the effects of light on the preterm infant.