Thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for underwriting this special two-part series

about the power of sound to affect and influence our health and wellbeing.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is working alongside others to build a culture of health

for everyone in America.

Learn more about them at rwjf.org.

This is 99% Invisible.

I'm Roman Mars.

Sound can have serious impacts on our health and wellbeing.

And ever since people moved into cities, we have been exposed to an unhealthy amount of

noise, cars, power lines, and the constant ding of our devices.

We live in a very noisy world.

And most of the noises we hear aren't designed to work together.

This is the second part of our special series on sound and health supported by the Robert

Wood Johnson Foundation.

We're taking a look at how a more intentional approach to sound can help us live better,

healthier lives.

And there's no better place to think about health than hospitals.

Joe Slesinger is an anesthesiologist at Vendorbilt Medical Center.

He spends a lot of his time in the operating room.

The operating room is an interesting space because we think of it, it's like my cockpit,

if you will, and anesthesiology is related a lot to aviation.

We are a culture of safety, we have safety checklists, just like pilots do.

...