Associations between adolescents' earphone usage in noisy environments, hearing loss, and self-reported hearing problems in a nationally representative sample of South Korean middle and high school students

Work-related temporary hearing loss and associated factors among textile industry workers in Amhara region, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study was designed to assess occupational noise exposure levels, prevalence of temporary hearing loss and associated factors among textile industry workers in Amhara region, Ethiopia.

DESIGN

An institution-based, cross-sectional study was conducted between June and July 2022. Participants were selected via a simple random sampling technique.

SETTING

Textile industry workers in Bahir Dar and Kombolcha.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 413 study participants were included in the data analysis.

PROCEDURES AND ANALYSIS

The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Area noise exposure levels in different work sections were measured using a sound level meter. Data analysis was done using Stata Version 14.0 software. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with temporary hearing loss. Adjusted OR with 95% CI and p-value<0.05 were used to determine statistical significance.

RESULTS

A total of 413 workers participated in the study with a response rate of 97.9%. The age of respondents ranged from 22 to 59 years (median age 32 years). The prevalence of work-related temporary hearing loss was 38.7% (95% CI 34.14% to 43.6%). Weaving department (AOR=6.6, 95% CI 3.06 to 14.3) and higher sound pressure level (>90 dBA) (AOR=7.9; 95% CI 2.6 to 23.7) were significantly associated with work-related temporary hearing loss among textile workers.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of work-related temporary hearing loss among textile industry workers was high. Weaving department and higher sound pressure level were significantly associated with work-related temporary hearing loss. Implementation of noise reduction measures, particularly in the weaving department, should be prioritised. Provision and enforcement of the use of hearing protection devices and establishment of regular hearing screening programmes to monitor workers' auditory health are advisable.

Therapeutic effect of intraperitoneal dexamethasone on noise-induced permanent threshold shift in mice model

The purpose of the study was to which investigate whether dexamethasone, which has anti-inflammatory and immune response suppression roles, could treat noise-induced hearing loss caused by damage to hair cells in the cochlea. The experiment used 8-week-old CBA mice exposed to white noise at an intensity of 110 dB SPL for 2 h, with hearing loss confirmed by the auditory brainstem response test. Dexamethasone was administered by intraperitoneal injection for 5 days, and the therapeutic effect was investigated for 3 weeks. The experimental groups were 3 mg/kg of dexamethasone (3 mpk) and 10 mg/kg of dexamethasone (10 mpk), and the control group was a saline-administered group. The results showed that compared to the control group, the hearing threshold value was recovered by 10 dB SPL compared to the saline group from the 14th day in the 3 mpk group. In the 10 mpk group, thresholds were recovered from the 7th day compared to the saline group. This difference was similar at 4 kHz, and in the case of the 10 mpk group, the threshold was recovered by 20 dB SPL compared to the saline group. The study also confirmed the restoration of nerve cell activity and showed a recovery effect of about 20 µV in the amplitude value change in the 10 mpk group. In conclusion, the study suggests that dexamethasone has a therapeutic effect for noise-induced hearing loss by increasing the activity of nerve cells and showing a recovery effect from hair cells damaged by noise.

Personal Listening Device Use and Attitude to Noise in Relation to Depression and Anxiety among Medical Students

Background

High levels of environmental noise may lead to psychological symptoms. The present study has hypothesized that personal listening device (PLD) use and a negative attitude to noise are significantly related to anxiety and/or depression.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 431 six-grade students (35% male) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. All students completed the questionnaires related to socio-demographic data, noise/music exposure habits, behaviors related to PLD use, tinnitus, headaches, consumption of alcohol, coffee, energy drinks and cigarettes, YANS (Youth Attitude to Noise Scale), CES-D (The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression), and GAD-7 (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment - 7 item scale) questionnaires.

Results

There were 396 (91.9%) of investigated students who used PLD, with more frequent use among girls compared to boys (95.0% and 86.8%, respectively; p = 0.002). We found no significant relationship between the frequency of PLD use and depression and anxiety. However, continuous daily PLD use longer than 1 hour was significantly and positively related to depression (p = 0.006). Students with depression had a lower total YANS score compared to those without depression, indicating a more negative attitude toward noise (p = 0.042). Students with no difficulties to concentrate in noise and with a positive attitude to daily noises had about 37% lower chance to suffer from depression and anxiety, respectively.

Conclusions

PLD use is common among medical students and may be associated with their mental health. Longer than 1 hour of continuous daily use of PLD may be positively related to depression. We also found a significant relationship between difficulties concentrating in noisy environments and depression, and between negative attitudes to daily noises and anxiety.

Influence of the Noise-Canceling Technology on How We Hear Sounds

Purpose: This study explores the influence of the noise-canceling technology in commercial earphones on sound pressure levels and preferred listening levels in terms of hearing protection. Materials and Methods: Thirty individuals completed puretone audiometry and real-ear measurements to assess sound pressure levels at the level of the eardrum with and without the activation of the noise-canceling function. The Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustic Research was used to investigate the acoustic characteristics of two environmental sounds (bus and café). Two types of earphones (wireless and wired canal type) were utilized in the study. Results: For both bus and café noises, in the low-frequency range, sound pressure levels were significantly decreased for all types of earphones when the noise-canceling function was turned on. The same results were observed for the whole frequency range. In terms of preferred listening levels, the wireless canal type and wired canal type earphones showed significant reduction in volume levels. Conclusion: The findings of the study show that for both low- and whole frequency range, the use of noise-canceling function significantly decreases the sound pressure levels of the signal for all styles of earphones, suggesting a potential of the noise-canceling technology in hearing protection.

Exploring Factors for Predicting Anxiety Disorders of the Elderly Living Alone in South Korea Using Interpretable Machine Learning: A Population-Based Study

This epidemiological study aimed to develop an X-AI that could explain groups with a high anxiety disorder risk in old age. To achieve this objective, (1) this study explored the predictors of senile anxiety using base models and meta models. (2) This study presented decision tree visualization that could help psychiatric consultants and primary physicians easily interpret the path of predicting high-risk groups based on major predictors derived from final machine learning models with the best performance. This study analyzed 1558 elderly (695 males and 863 females) who were 60 years or older and completed the Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). We used support vector machine (SVM), random forest, LightGBM, and Adaboost for the base model, a single predictive model, while using XGBoost algorithm for the meta model. The analysis results confirmed that the predictive performance of the "SVM + Random forest + LightGBM + AdaBoost + XGBoost model (stacking ensemble: accuracy 87.4%, precision 85.1%, recall 87.4%, and F1-score 85.5%)" was the best. Also, the results of this study showed that the elderly who often (or mostly) felt subjective loneliness, had a Self Esteem Scale score of 26 or less, and had a subjective communication with their family of 4 or less (on a 10-point scale) were the group with the highest risk anxiety disorder. The results of this study imply that it is necessary to establish a community-based mental health policy that can identify elderly groups with high anxiety risks based on multiple risk factors and manage them constantly.