Psychosocial hearing disadvantage and associated factors among construction workers in Mato Grosso, Brazil

The Global Prevalence of Noise Induced Hearing Impairment Among Industrial Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Noise is one of the harmful health factors in industrial sites. Hearing impairments are one of the most common occupational diseases in a wide range of industries. The aim of this study is to determine the general prevalence of noise-induced hearing disorders among industrial workers and to homogenize the results of different studies in this field. In this systematic review and meta-analysis study, the keywords of Occupational Noise, Hearing Impairment, Workers, Industry in Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases without any lower time limit and until March 2022. Details of the identified studies were then transferred into the EndNote reference management software. Subsequently, duplicate studies were eliminated, and the remaining studies were evaluated in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria and through the three remaining phases of PRISMA i.e., screening, eligibility, and inclusion. To analyze the eligible studies, the random effects model was used, and the heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using the I2 index. In a review of 69 studies with a sample size of 3,552,888 people, the overall prevalence of hearing impairment among industrial workers was 28.8% (95% CI 26.2%-31.6%). The highest prevalence of hearing impairments was reported among agricultural and fishery workers with 45.7% (95% CI 35.1%-56.7%), and the highest prevalence of hearing impairment among industrial workers was found in the continent of Africa with 46.2% (95% CI 37.4%-55.2%). Due to the higher prevalence of hearing impairments among men, the elderly and in developing countries, it is necessary to establish pertinent laws and regulations in order for workers to use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and mandate employers to provide hearing protection programs.

Hearing impairment among workers and satisfaction with the use of hearing aids

BACKGROUND: Hearing problems can have adverse effects on an individual’s job performance, as well as on unemployment or underemployment and increased risk of stress-related sick leave. OBJECTIVE: To investigate hearing impairment among workers and satisfaction with the use of hearing aids. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with workers who are hearing aid users. Subjects underwent pure tone audiometry and answered the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults and the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life questionnaires. RESULTS: Participants were 36 workers between 36 and 75 years old, with an average age of 53.47 years, 52.7% male and 47.3% female. There was a mild to moderate hearing handicap perception, with worse results for women in the emotional domain. As hearing loss increased, workers’ frustration increased when talking to coworkers. Everyone was satisfied with the use of their hearing aids. Satisfaction increased with increasing age and decreased with increasing hearing loss. The greater the frustration when talking to co-workers, the lower the overall satisfaction with hearing aid use; the lower the satisfaction with the competence of the professional who assisted in adapting the hearing aid; the lower the satisfaction in environments with background noise and overall worse personal image. The worse the attitudes and emotional responses of workers regarding their hearing impairment, the lower the overall satisfaction with the hearing aid. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the use of hearing aids, workers perceive having a hearing impairment, especially women. As hearing loss and frustration in talking with co-workers increased, satisfaction decreased.

Awareness and usage of personal protective equipment among construction workers and their hearing assessment by pure tone audiometry; A cross-sectional study in South India

CONTEXT

Occupational hazards at the building construction workplace are enormous. Good compliance to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) alongside other safety measures is critical in reducing the hazards. Occupational hearing loss is one such occupational hazard among construction workers.

AIMS

This study was conducted for determining the awareness of the benefits of PPE and its usage among construction workers along with hearing assessment.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted among construction workers in a building project in Mangaluru city in Dakshina Kannada district in South India.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

After obtaining informed written consent, 110 construction workers were recruited by simple random sampling method. Basic information, awareness, and use of PPE were collected using a semistructured questionnaire through personal interviews. Hearing assessment was done by pure tone audiometry.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Data collected was analyzed. Chi-square test and Fischer's exact probability test were used to test the association between variables.

RESULTS

Majority (85.5%) of the construction workers are working for duration of 15 years or less. Difficulty in hearing was reported by 9.6% of them. Awareness regarding benefits of using personal protective devices like helmets, masks, and earplugs/muffs were 58.2%, 56.4%, and 14.5%, respectively. The utilization of at least one PPE among them was 58.1%. The presence of sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL) in both/either ears was detected among 14.5% of the workers. There was a statistically significant association of SNHL among workers and their duration of construction work.

CONCLUSION

The current study highlights that awareness and usage of PPE was low and a proportion of them had a hearing impairment. Occupational health and safety training along with a periodic examination of construction workers need to be focused so as to detect and manage occupational health hazards early.

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.