Music in the OR?
What’s the mood in an OR? A lot of times, the mood in an operating room is set by the choice of music played during a surgical case. Some surgeons are classical buffs. Others show tunes. I’m a jam band kind of guy. So as the surgeon, I usually get to choose the music. When we’re in the OR, we’re usually listening to Phish, M.O.E. or The Dead.
What’s the best way to listen to music in the OR? I wanted to purchase a new hands-free speaker for our hospital this year so I ended up doing a bit of homework and working to understand which speaker might work best in the OR.
There are a number of choices to make when selecting a hands-free speaker for the OR, but the first is fidelity. Operating rooms aren’t designed for acoustics. Therefore, you can forget about the high-end hands-free speakers like Sonos Play1 or Google Home Max. You’ll never be able to enjoy the sound of these speakers.
Another consideration is your source of music. Music on most hands-free devices can be streamed from your phone. So if you use Spotify or Pandora, you can use your phone as the music source and simply use a Bluetooth connection to the speaker. Alternatively, you can use a music streaming service via the web like Amazon Prime Music.
What about cost? On the low end of hands-free speakers, Escape makes a nice portable, hands-free speaker, starting at $29.95.
In the end, I chose an Amazon Echo. I know the product and have used it in the OR before. Reasonably priced at $79.95 and good fidelity.
Jeff
Medical Advisor
Myfootshop.com
Updated 3-11-2021
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