PubMed · 1993 · 22 citations · 0 references
Health ProfessionsAudiologyHealth SciencesHearing AssessmentHearing ScienceOccupational HealthHearing ImpairmentHearing LossHearing Protection DevicesNoise ExposureNoise-induced Hearing DamageOccupational Noise ExposureAdult Occupational Noise ExposureHearing ProtectionIndustrial Noise ExposureNoise Exposure AwarenessNoise Exposure EpidemiologyOccupational Hearing Loss EpidemiologyPersonal Hearing Protection DevicesProtective Hearing Devices
The study compared the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss between noise‑exposed and non‑noise‑exposed industrial workers while assessing their knowledge of noise hazards and attitudes toward hearing protection devices. A cross‑sectional survey of 524 workers, comprising 442 noise‑exposed and 82 non‑noise‑exposed participants, was conducted. Sensorineural hearing loss was markedly higher among noise‑exposed workers (83% vs 31.7%), overall hearing impairment was 30.1% versus 3.7%, yet only 5.1% regularly used hearing protection, with just 35.5% aware of the risk and a positive correlation between awareness and protection use, underscoring the need for better education.
A total of 524 industrial workers were studied. They consisted of 442 noise exposed and 82 non-noise exposed workers. The purpose was to compare the prevalence of sensori-neural hearing loss among the noise exposed and the non-noise exposed workers, to study their knowledge on the hazard of noise to hearing and the workers' attitude towards the hearing protection devices. The prevalence of sensori-neural hearing loss was significantly higher among the noise exposed workers, i.e., 83% versus 31.7% (p < 0.01). However, the prevalence of hearing impairment was much lower for both groups, being 30.1% for the noise exposed and 3.7% for the non-noise exposed group. Although hearing protection devices were provided to 80.5% of the workers, only 5.1% were wearing them regularly. The possibility of developing hearing loss due to exposure to excessive noise was only known by 35.5% of the noise exposed workers. This awareness was found to have a positive correlation with the workers' compliance to the hearing protection devices. Our findings highlight the need for workers to be educated on the hazards of excessive noise exposure to hearing.