15:15 pm
3762 - Music exposure and hearing loss in Switzerland – a long-term perspective
Beat W. Hohmann, PhD | Suva - Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund | Switzerland
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Authors:
Beat W. Hohmann, PhD | Suva - Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund | Switzerland
Anna Schoeni, PhD | Swiss Federal Office of Public Health | Switzerland
Adolescents often expose themselves to loud music during social and music events. Another source of leisure noise is the use of personal listening devices. Frequent leisure noise at high volume and for a long duration can pose a serious threat to one’s hearing.
A study in 1997 showed that about 7% of the users of personal listening devices exceeded a long-term dose of 85 dB(A). According to another study 10 years later using the same measuring equipment, this percentage remained almost unchanged, despite the vastly improved (digital) quality and prolonged battery life of personal listening devices. Additionally the average listening level stayed almost the same.
Suva's audiometric database of noise-exposed workers contains data of about 1000 apprentices for every year who had not been exposed to occupational noise at the time of the hearing check. If noise-induced hearing loss was identified for those apprentices, it would probably be due to leisure noise. However, the evaluation of these data revealed that the hearing of the apprentices had improved over the years. The expected degradation could not be shown.
15:30 pm
3620 - The hearing status of employees exposed to noise generated by ultrasonic welding devices
Adam Dudarewicz | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
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Authors:
Adam Dudarewicz | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Kamil Zaborowski | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Paulina Rutkowska-Kaczmarek | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Małgorzata Zamojska-Daniszewska | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska, Prof. | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
The aim of the study was to assess the effect of ultrasonic noise (10-40 kHz) and audible noise on welder operators' hearing status and to compare the results with the results obtained in group of workers exposed exclusively to audible noise. In the group of 90 operators of ultrasonic welding devices the hearing examinations were performed, using pure tone audiometry at frequencies from 0.5-16 kHz and otoacoustic emission tests (DPOAE, TEOAE). The results of hearing tests were compared with the results in the reference group of workers exposed exclusively to audible noise. Hearing thresholds at a frequency of 0.5-6 kHz are comparable in both groups, and at frequencies of 9-14 kHz the thresholds are higher in the welder operators group. Amplitudes of otoacoustic emission are comparable in the lower frequency ranges of the test frequency bands, and in the upper ranges the amplitudes are greater in the reference group. These differences in hearing may result from differences in spectral composition of noise.
15:45 pm
3998 - Hearing loss and morbidity among construction site workers in National Capital Region of Delhi, India
Anshul Shukla, MD | MAULANA AZAD MEDICAL COLLEGE, NEW DELHI, INDIA | India
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Author:
Anshul Shukla, MD | MAULANA AZAD MEDICAL COLLEGE, NEW DELHI, INDIA | India
BACKGROUND - Among construction workers hearing deficiencies caused by noise is one of the most important occupational diseases. Hearing difficulty, tinnitus, ear discharge and posture disturbances, and auditory disorders, particularly noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) have become common problems throughout industry.
OBJECTIVES – To assess the morbidity profile and Risk factors for occupational hearing loss among construction site workers.
METHODS – Multistage Random Sampling Design was used to select the study subjects of construction sites from National Capital Region of Delhi, India.
A total sample size of 451 was selected depending on the number of workers in each of the sites identified in the seven zones.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION – About one third of the workers were exposed to loud noises at the workplace. It was seen that 16.4% of the respondents perceived the workplace noise control to be bad. Further assessment revealed hearing loss of varying degree in up to 40% of the sample size on audiological assessment. Based on findings, interventions for workplace control of noise and use of other protective measures and health education was advocated.
16:00 pm
3664 - Noise exposure and hearing threshold levels in call center operators
Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska, Prof. | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
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Authors:
Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska, Prof. | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Adam Dudarewicz | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Małgorzata Zamojska-Daniszewska | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Kamil Zaborowski | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
Paulina Rutkowska-Kaczmarek | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine | Poland
The overall objective of the study was to analyze the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in call center operators.
Conventional pure-tone audiometry and high-frequency audiometry were performed in 78 subjects, aged 19-44 (28.1±6.3) years, employed up to 12 (2.7±2.9) years at one call center. All subjects were also inquired about their headphones usage habits, hearing-related symptoms and risk factors for NIHL. Noise exposure from communication headsets was evaluated using MIRE technique as specified by the ISO 11904-1:2002 standard. The background noise prevailing in offices was also measured according to ISO 9612:2009.
A personal daily noise exposure level calculated by combining headset and non-headset work activities ranged from 69-79 (74.7±2.5) dB. In majority (90%) of subjects, mean hearing threshold level in the frequency range of 1-8 kHz did not exceed 20 dB. Nevertheless, high frequency notches were found in 15% of audiograms. Moreover, some of call center operators reported hearing-related symptoms.
Further studies are needed before firm conclusions concerning the risk of NIHL in this professional group can be drawn.
16:15 pm
3941 - The effect of occupational noise on hearing-related symptoms - exploring mediating and modifying effect of annoyance and stress
Sofie Fredriksson | University of Gothenburg | Sweden
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Authors:
Sofie Fredriksson | University of Gothenburg | Sweden
Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb | University of Gothenburg | Sweden
Kerstin Persson-Waye, Prof. Dr. | University of Gothenburg | Sweden
Noise-induced hearing disorder is under reported in female-dominated occupations, hindering knowledge on associated risk factors. We performed a cross-sectional study in Sweden, including 4,718 female preschool teachers and 4,122 randomly selected women age 24-65. In hypothesised causal models, we explored the effect of occupational noise exposure (e.g. self-reported retrospective and current exposure, hearing protection) on hearing-related symptoms (hearing loss, speech perception, tinnitus, hyperacusis, sound-induced auditory fatigue). Noise annoyance, work-related stress and stress arousal were assessed for mediating and modifying effects.
Exposure to occupational noise significantly increased the risk of hearing-related symptoms among preschool teachers (RRs 1.19-1.42 in adjusted log-binomial regression models). Consistent with our hypothesis, annoyance mediated the effect of noise exposure on sound-induced auditory fatigue (indirect effect β=0.28). In contrast, annoyance modified the effect of noise exposure on both hyperacusis and speech perception. For sound-induced auditory fatigue and hyperacusis, stress exposure and stress arousal both modified the effect and significantly interacted with noise exposure. The models provide better understanding of possible mechanisms for developing hearing-related symptoms. These findings will be further explored using longitudinal design.