Research on medical sound includes dental noise, MRI noise reduction, and alarm design. Similar phenomena may occur with cast cutters; however, the factors contributing to patients’ fear remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify the components of auditory impressions of cast cutter sound during the pre-procedure phase, and to examine the effects of audiovisual conditions, safety-related contextual information, prior cast removal experience, and sound pressure level. Factor analysis identified three factors: terror/discomfort, intensity, and tension/meaninglessness. Presenting both visual and auditory modalities reduced intensity and tension/meaninglessness. The combination of prior experience and contextual information reduced terror/discomfort and intensity, whereas either factor alone increased them. Higher sound pressure levels increased terror/discomfort and intensity, particularly among participants without prior experience.
YAMANOUCHI et al. (Thu,) studied this question.