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[Prevalence and characterization of hearing loss in workers exposed to industrial noise of the turbogenerated electric plant of a petrochemical industry].

The purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of occupational exposure to noise and its relationship with other factors that can induce hearing loss in the electric plant workers of a petrochemical industry of the west of Venezuela. A cross-sectional study was conducted that included sonometry tests, carried out according to the established methodology by COVENIN rules, and the occupational medical evaluation and liminal tonal audiometrics test in 75 workers. The equivalent noise levels (Leq) was quantified in different workplaces. It was found out that most of the workers are exposed to high noise levels [>85 dB(A)] and during more time than the recommended. All workers use hearing protectors appropriately. The hearing loss prevalence in workers was 16.0%, there were not noise-induced hearing losses. The hearing threshold registered in the audiometrics test was diminished, but inside the normal threshold values. We diagnosed 12 cases of conductive hearing loss, all grade I; there were not sensorial or mixed hearing losses. There was not a relationship between the equivalent noise level and hearing loss. It is suggested the design and implantation of a program of auditory conservation to protect the health and security of the workers and to conduct a longitudinal study considering the findings of the present study as it basis.

Adult↗

Industrial music.

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Ear Protective Devices↗

Noise monitoring and establishment of a comprehensive hearing conservation program.

Here we discuss the importance of monitoring noise in contemporary animal facilities. Noise surveys and monitoring should be an integral part of an institution's Occupational Health and Safety Program. If noise levels equal or exceed 85 dB, then a Hearing Conservation Program must be initiated in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. The tenets of a comprehensive Hearing Conservation Program are outlined.

Animal Technicians↗

Do workers exposed to intermittent aircraft noise suffer from occupational deafness? A study in Alexandria airport.

The study aimed at assessment of noise levels in Alexandria airport and measurement of hearing acuity--among other health parameters of the working personnel. By performing 65 sound pressure level measurements, a questionnaire and air conduction audiometry, significant hearing defects could be revealed. Deficiencies affected hearing levels at all frequencies but especially higher frequencies in workers exposed to noise of aircrafts and other airport activities at the exterior of the airport building. The importance of pre-employment and periodic ear and audiometric examinations is thus expressed.

Adult↗

Is your hearing really safe?

Despite all the recent noise regulations and increasingly heavy HSE fines, many workers are without hearing protection. Dennis Connor, who is the leader of the UK delegation on European Standards CEN, describes why it is vitally important for every worker in a noisy industrial environment to have personal hearing protection.

Ear Protective Devices↗

Clinical and animal experiment studies to optimise the therapy for acute acoustic trauma.

Despite extensive educational measures and improved ear protection, acute acoustic trauma still represents a major problem for the young soldier in the Federal Armed Forces. The aim of the investigation was thus to establish the optimum therapeutic scheme that could be applied by the generally young and still inexperienced unit medical officer to patients who had suffered acute acoustic trauma and to demonstrate the therapeutic scheme in animal experiments. In the clinical section, ten studies conducted on 500 patients who had suffered acute acoustic trauma made it possible to show that the combination of low-molecular dextran, or low-molecular hydroxyethyl starch, and hyperbaric oxygenation produced the best therapeutic results in terms of hearing gain and tinnitus elimination by a statistically significant margin. The studies only included patients who showed no tendency towards spontaneous recovery, with strict exclusion criteria being applied. Through animal experiments, it was seen that hyperbaric oxygenation, in the manner in which we conducted it (100% oxygen at 2.5 bar), leads to an increase in the oxygen partial pressure in the perilymph of the guinea pig cochlea. This is due partly to diffusion and partly to the blood flow. In a further experimental approach using animals, it proved possible to show that 60 hours after damage by acoustic trauma and hyperbaric oxygenation, the number of inner ear sensory cells that had suffered morphological damage in the animal was lower than without the hyperbaric oxygenation by a statistically significant margin. At the same time, valuable information was gained on the epidemiology of acute acoustic trauma.

Acute Disease↗

Attenuation of hearing protectors at 85 dB SPL investigated by commercial "insertion gain" method.

Attenuation of hearing protectors is conventionally measured as the difference between the subject's pure-tone hearing threshold with, and without, hearing protection under free field conditions (loudspeaker) in a sound attenuated (an-echoic) room. This REAT procedure is not objective as it involves the response of a subject. The attenuation can not be measured at noise hazard levels: > 85 dB SPL. Commercial computerized "insertion gain" equipment has recently been developed to improve the individual fitting of hearing aids. By "insertion gain" method a slender silicone probe-tube connected to an outside microphone, is inserted in the ear canal, registering the sound pressure level in front of the tympanic membrane. Thus one can objectively register the sound pressure level difference (gain) obtained close to the tympanic membrane with a given hearing aid in a non-attenuated room. We wanted to study whether the same procedure could be used to assess the attenuation of hearing protectors at noise hazard levels with acceptable measurement variability. With a commercial computerized "insertion gain" equipment (IGO-HAT 1000. Madsen Electronics) we registered the "insertion loss", the difference in sound pressure level measured < 5 mm in front of the tympanic membrane for 20 consecutive sessions (fittings) in the same subject with versus without the same hearing protector. Below 6000 Hz standard deviations were remarkably low--around 2 dB--for the two protectors tested.

Acoustics↗