Epidemiological characteristics of hearing loss associated with noise temporal structure among manufacturing workers

作者：Lifang Zhou, Xiaoying Ruan, Tongshuai Wang, Hongwei Xie, Yong Hu, Zhihao Shi, Jiarui Xin, Jiena Zhou, Panqi Xue, Fang Wei, Yixin Zhang, Meibian Zhang, Hua Zou · 发表于：Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fnint.2022.978213 · 被引用次数：30 · 研究领域：Noise Effects and Management、Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation、Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among manufacturing workers, and to provide evidence for diagnosing and preventing occupational hearing loss caused by complex noise, which is different from Gaussian noise in temporal structure. Methods: One thousand and fifty manufacturing workers exposed to occupational noise were recruited in a cross-sectional survey. Exposure characteristics and epidemiological distribution of hearing loss and noise exposure metrics (noise energy and kurtosis) were investigated, and the relationship between noise exposure and hearing loss was analyzed. The effects of kurtosis on hearing threshold shift across different frequencies and on NIHL development with exposure duration and noise intensity were also investigated. Results: Each type of work had specific noise exposure metrics. Noise intensity and kurtosis were independent parameters ( r = −0.004, p = 0.885). The prevalence of NIHL and the hearing threshold level had a specific distribution in different types of work. Kurtosis deepened the hearing notch at high frequencies and accelerated the formation of early hearing loss. The effect of exposure duration and noise intensity on the prevalence of high-frequency NIHL (i.e., at 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz) for manufacturing workers increased with kurtosis in workers with noise exposure duration of less than 10 years and with L Aeq.8h between 80 and 90 dB(A). Male (OR...