Audio paused (bell crossed with dashed lines)
The standard’s wording, as the sources below reproduce it:
“To identify the control for AUDIO PAUSED or to indicate that the ALARM SYSTEM is in the AUDIO PAUSED state.”
IEC 60417-5576-2 · IEC 60601-1-8, Table C.1
What it means for you
The alarm sound is silenced for a while and will return by itself when the pause runs out; lights and messages carry on meanwhile. It is the sound-only counterpart of alarm paused (the dashed-crossed triangle), and the temporary counterpart of audio off (the solid-crossed bell). Hillrom and NE Scientific give the IEC 60417 title “Bell, cancel temporary”: “To indicate the operating status of the bell being temporarily cancelled.” How long the silence lasts is set by the device, as its manual says.
Whether a device is right for you is a question for your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
- What it looks like
- A bell with its clapper below, crossed by an X drawn in dashed lines.
- Where you see it
- On the silence key of patient monitors, infusion pumps and breast pumps, and on screens while the sound is paused. Medela notes it also uses it as an internal symbol.
- Other names
- bell, cancel temporary; alarm sound paused; alarm silence; dashed crossed bell
What it does not tell you
It does not say how long the silence lasts, or that the cause of the alarm has been dealt with.
Often confused with
To identify the control whereby a bell may be switched off or to indicate the operating status of the bell.
More symbols in “An alarm triangle or a bell”
Sources
IEC 60417 and IEC 60601-1 are paid standards, so the wording above is quoted as 3 publishers’ public documents reproduce it; our drawing is not the IEC artwork. Each was fetched and read on the date shown:
- Medela: Symbols Glossary (101046886 A) — “Audio paused — To identify the control for AUDIO PAUSED or to indicate that the ALARM SYSTEM is in the AUDIO PAUSED state.”, citing IEC 60601-1-8 Table C.1 and IEC 60417-5576-2. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Hillrom: Symbols Glossary (80022945 Ver. J) — Row “Bell, cancel temporary — To indicate the operating status of the bell being temporarily cancelled.”, IEC 60417-5576-2, drawn as a bell with a dashed X. Checked 2026-09-28.
- NE Scientific: Master Symbol Glossary (CTF-100011 Rev 01) — Lists IEC 60417 reference 5576-2 “Bell, cancel temporary — To indicate the operating status of the bell being temporarily canceled”, beside 5576-3 “temporary acknowledged”. Checked 2026-09-28.
Plain-language parts are in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.