A STUDY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF NOISE INDUCED HEARING LOSS AMONG ADULT FACTORY WORKERS
Abstract
Introduction : Occupational Hearing Loss is one of the most common occupational diseases. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is more common
in less developed countries .It is getting worse over the years with continued occupational noise exposure and is irreversible, but could be prevented
. It is the second most common form of acquired hearing loss. The purpose of our study was to assess occupational NIHL, as measured by
Audiometric testing in Nearby workers exposed to occupational noise in the construction industry. This study was also designed to assess hearing
threshold levels among exposed patients and to compare them with the nonexposed control group and to evaluate other variables.
Methods: This study was carried out as a Prospective Cross Sectional study. 100 Construction workers working in small scale unorganised sctor
were evaluated in Audiology Units. Inclusion Criteria included Construction workers above 20 years of age & within 50 years of age to avoid HL
due to aging and minimum 3 years of Occupational Exposure. All subjects signed a written informed consent to participate in the study. Same
number of workers working in Non Exposed Enviroment were also evaluated.
Results : We noted that there was no significant difference in age across exposed versus unexposed groups. The assessment of audiometric tests
revealed a predominance of pathological audiograms) in the group of workers exposed to occupational noise compared to those who were
unexposed. This difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that hearing protection for workers in noisy environments is the best measure and probably the only and most
effective measure in preventing occupational deafness. Routine monitoring of noise levels and hearing status in certain populations should be
included as part of a program effective hearing conservation , Audiological assessment including should be performed pre-employment to find out
vulnerable patients for NIHL.
Keywords
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