Effect of Noise Exposure on 1,382 Metallurgical Workers in Periodic Audiometric Evaluation: A Cohort Study

Task force Guideline of Brazilian Society of Otology ‒ hearing loss in children - Part I ‒ Evaluation

OBJECTIVES

To provide an overview of the main evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis of hearing loss in children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years.

METHODS

Task force members were educated on knowledge synthesis methods, including electronic database search, review and selection of relevant citations, and critical appraisal of selected studies. Articles written in English or Portuguese on childhood hearing loss were eligible for inclusion. The American College of Physicians' guideline grading system and the American Thyroid Association's guideline criteria were used for critical appraisal of evidence and recommendations for therapeutic interventions.

RESULTS

The evaluation and diagnosis of hearing loss: universal newborn hearing screening, laboratory testing, congenital infections (especially cytomegalovirus), genetic testing and main syndromes, radiologic imaging studies, vestibular assessment of children with hearing loss, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and noise-induced hearing loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Every child with suspected hearing loss has the right to diagnosis and appropriate treatment if necessary. This task force considers 5 essential rights: (1) Otolaryngologist consultation; (2) Speech assessment and therapy; (3) Diagnostic tests; (4) Treatment; (5) Ophthalmologist consultation.

Identification of Noise Levels for Skill Training Activities, Equipment, Machines and Power Tools at TVET Institutes in Malaysia

The use of various machines, equipment and power tools at TVET Institute causes the institute's environment to be exposed to noise hazards that are similar to the industry. However, not much data has been published regarding noise exposure at TVET institutes. This study was carried out to document the noise exposure of work activities training in public TVET institutes in Malaysia that implement skill training programs in metal fabrication, furniture manufacturing and automotive maintenance. The identification of excessive noise, task-based noise exposure monitoring and source measurement was conducted. The noise contribution from each work activity to the daily A-weighted noise exposure level and sound pressure level emitted by machines and equipment was documented. The findings of this study recorded 20 activities with task-based noise contribution to the daily A-weighted noise exposure level between 75.3 dB and 95 dB. Based on the findings, the training environment at the TVET institutes has a risk of operating with excessive noise. The documented data can be used in planning the implementation of suitable noise control measures in TVET institutes.

A simulation experiment study to examine the effects of noise on miners' safety behavior in underground coal mines

BACKGROUND

Noise pollution in coal mines is of great concern. Personal injuries directly or indirectly related to noise occur from time to time. Its effects impact the health and safety of coal mine workers. This study aimed to identify if and how the level of noise impacts miners' safety behavior in underground coal mines.

METHODS

In order to study the influence of noise on miners in the mining industry, we built a coal mine noise simulation experiment system, and set the noise test level at 50 dB ~ 120 dB according to the actual working environment at well. We divided the noise gradient into 8 categories and conducted 93 experiments, in which we aim to test miners' attention distribution, fatigue, and reaction under each level, and the experimental results were analyzed by SPSS22.0 software.

RESULTS

The results show that the increase of environmental noise level will have an impact on the attention, reaction, and fatigue. The noise is positively related to the fatigue, the noise is negatively related to the attention and reaction. In the noise environment, the sensitivity of the personnel to optic stimuli is higher than that to acoustic stimuli. The test indicators of attention, fatigue, and reaction will change significantly, when the noise level is greater than 70 ~ 80 dB.

CONCLUSIONS

From the perspective of accident prevention, the noise level can be controlled within the range of less than 70 ~ 80 dB, which can control the occurrence of accidents to a certain extent.