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Noise‐induced hearing loss — An examination of the methods of assessment in a cross‐sectional study of 87 industrial workers
Author(s) -
Das S.,
Mulheran M.,
Brewster M.,
Banerjee A.R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
clinical otolaryngology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1749-4486
pISSN - 1749-4478
DOI - 10.1111/coa.13028
Subject(s) - audiogram , medicine , hearing loss , noise induced hearing loss , audiology , industrial noise , noise exposure , noise (video) , audiometry , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics)
Objectives The surveillance of noise‐induced hearing loss ( NIHL ) according to the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ) differs from the medico‐legal criteria used to assess NIHL . Our study compares the two systems and proposes a novel method of simplifying the medico‐legal criteria and applying it to ascertain noise‐induced hearing loss. Design The anonymised audiograms of a group of 87 industrial workers from a single site were analysed with both methods. Results The comparison showed approximately one‐third of the workers assessed in this study had their noise‐induced hearing loss underestimated by the HSE criteria. The majority of these individuals were over 40 years of age. Conclusions The HSE criteria for noise‐induced hearing loss need review and re‐alignment with the medico‐legal criteria to address the discrepancy between the two systems.