Prevalence of hearing problems and associated factors in an agricultural company in southern Brazil

Auditory Changes in Occupational Health Associated With Metabolic Diseases in Adult Workers

INTRODUCTION

The most common hearing losses in the population are associated with genetic conditions, use of ototoxic substances or medications, infectious diseases, metabolic diseases and chronic ear diseases and the association of exposure to occupational risks or the natural aging process.

OBJECTIVE

Verify the association between hearing loss in workers and metabolic diseases.

METHOD

Retrospective cross-sectional study with analysis of secondary data of subjects exposed to occupational noise and undergoing drug treatment for metabolic disease, attended in two occupational health clinics (C1 and C2) from January 2020 to December 2022, considering the data of reference examinations from the year 2005.

RESULTS

Of the n = 97 subjects evaluated, 73.20% were male, exposed to occupational noise (64.90%), with medication use for treating cardiovascular diseases (89.70%). The most recurrent auditory complaint was tinnitus (28.90%), n = 53 subjects presented sensorineural hearing loss with a statistical association between the decline of hearing loss and medications used for metabolic and hormonal regulation.

CONCLUSION

Here was a higher frequency in the use of medications for treating cardiovascular diseases with a risk of triggering or worsening hearing loss in these subjects and greater impairment and decline of hearing thresholds were observed in the results of C2.

Self-reported hearing difficulty in workers exposed to industrial dust in southern Brazil

PURPOSE

To investigate the association between self-reported hearing difficulties and occupational exposure to industrial dust in workers in southern Brazil.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional analytical study conducted with data from the National Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde, 2013). The dependent variable was self-reported hearing impairment, and the primary independent variable was occupational exposure to industrial dust. The covariables were: sex, skin color, age in complete years, exposure to noise, and exposure to chemical substances. The variables of occupational exposure to noise and chemical substances were used as adjustment variables (confounding variables), and the analyses were stratified per state (Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul) to verify the difference in magnitude results per region. For the crude and adjusted analysis, the odds ratio (OR) was used as a measure of association, estimated through the logistic regression analysis. The data were analyzed through the software Stata, version 14.

RESULTS

Regarding the main exposure, 10.1% of the sample (n = 490) reported being exposed to industrial dust in an occupational environment, while 7.0% reported hearing impairment. In the final analysis, workers exposed to industrial dust were 1.77 times more likely to report hearing impairment when compared to individuals not exposed to this agent.

CONCLUSION

There was an association between hearing impairment and exposure to industrial dust in workers in the southern region of Brazil.

[Self-reported hearing impairment and occupational exposure to hazardous noise and ototoxic agents: a population-based study]

This study's objective was to estimate the association between self-reported hearing impairment and occupational exposure to hazardous noise and ototoxic agents in Brazilian workers. This was a cross-sectional study with data from the Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS-2013). The dependent variable was self-reported hearing impairment, and three principal exposures were analyzed: noise, industrial dust, and chemical substances. Logistic regression was performed, estimating crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). The principal exposure variables were adjusted for each other and by covariables sex, age, workplace, time on the job, and hypertension. 36,442 workers participated in the study. Higher prevalence of hearing impairment was seen in workers exposed to industrial dust (9.9%) (p < 0.001). The older the worker and the longer the time on the job, the higher the prevalence of hearing impairment (p < 0.001). In the adjusted analysis, workers exposed to noise showed 1.65 higher odds of reporting difficulty hearing, when compared to unexposed individuals (p < 0.001). The same was true for workers exposed to industrial dust (OR = 1.36) (p = 0.012). No association was observed between the outcome and exposure to chemical substances (p = 0.120). There was an association between hearing impairment and occupational exposure to noise and industrial dust in Brazilian workers. This emphasizes the importance of strengthening public policies for hearing health and the development of measures for prevention and auditory monitoring in the workplace.