Open AccessSELF‐REPORTED HEARING LOSS AMONG WORKERS EXPOSED TO INDUSTRIAL NOISE. ANALYSIS OF U.S. SURVEILLANCE DATA WITH REFERENCE TO THE AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT
Author(s) -
Gun R.T.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1988.tb00155.x
Subject(s) - hearing loss , workforce , noise (video) , audiology , industrial noise , noise exposure , noise induced hearing loss , medicine , environmental health , computer science , economics , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , economic growth
Aging and noise are the two main causes of hearing loss. To estimate the extent to which hearing loss is due to noise and is therefore preventable, an analysis was undertaken, using U.S. surveillance data, of the prevalence of hearing loss in workers in industries categorised according to the percentages of the workforce exposed to noise levels of 85 dBA or more. It was estimated that 13 per cent of the U.S. workforce was exposed to these noise levels, and that occupational noise exposure accounted for 20 per cent of self‐reported hearing loss in the male workforce. Applying the industry‐specific exposures to Australia, it is estimated that some 657,000 workers are exposed to noise levels of 85 dBA or more in this country. Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate that constant noise accounts for 38 per cent of self‐reported hearing loss in Australian adult males (although this figure would include hearing loss due to non‐occupational noise). Data from both countries indicate that the prevalence of noise‐induced hearing loss in females is negligible.