In everyday hospital life, a sound can sometimes mean the difference between drawing attention – or causing overwhelm.

In January, we once again attended the Patient Monitoring Roundtable at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – this time in an active role. It was the first PMRT of 2026 and took place at the Berlin Simulation & Training Centre (BeST).

Johannes Helberger’s (Sound Innovation Lab) keynote address wasn’t just about technology, but addressed the question: When is a medical sound helpful, and when does it become a source of stress?

This was followed by two workshops – one of which was led by Sandra and Rodney: In a detailed replica of an operating theatre, we asked the participants – most of whom work in hospitals – about their experiences with sounds in clinical settings. We played real alarm sounds from everyday hospital life. The feedback was: “You hear them constantly, but at some point you no longer know what’s really important.”

The problem isn’t volume. – It is the meaning.

When alarms are too frequent, too similar or poorly designed, alarm fatigue sets in. Attention wanes, stress rises. And with that, the risk grows that a critical alarm will be overlooked. Sound is therefore no minor issue in the medical sector. It directs attention, influences workload and thus also has a direct impact on patient safety.

What became clear at the PMRT: In healthcare, better technology alone is not enough. We also need a consistent human factors perspective on how alarms are designed and implemented acoustically.

This is precisely where HFC works. We translate clinical requirements and experience into design criteria for acoustic interfaces: What information should actually be audible? How do the priorities differ in terms of sound? And how can these signals be designed to be pleasant to the ear? Our aim is to develop and evaluate alarm systems that support day-to-day clinical practice and reduce the cognitive load.

Many thanks to the entire PMRT team for an open and highly relevant discussion, to the Sound Innovation Lab for the respectful collaboration and to BESt for the great venue.