Prospective noise induced changes to hearing among construction industry apprentices

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Audiology
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Occupational noise exposure is a significant risk factor for hearing impairment.
• Early detection of noise-induced hearing damage is crucial for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the development of noise-induced hearing damage in construction apprentices.
• To compare the sensitivity of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and pure tone audiometry in detecting early hearing changes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective monitoring of hearing and noise exposure in construction apprentices and a control group.
• Utilized standard pure tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs).
• Collected data on occupational and recreational noise exposure, and hearing protection device (HPD) use.

Main Results:

• Significant, exposure-related changes in DPOAEs were observed, particularly at 4 kHz.
• High exposure groups showed approximately 0.5 dB annual changes in 4 kHz emissions.
• Pure tone audiometry revealed only slight trends towards increased thresholds with higher noise exposure.

Conclusions:

• Construction apprentices with average noise exposures under 90 dBA exhibit measurable hearing function loss within their first three years.
• DPOAEs demonstrate greater sensitivity to early noise-induced hearing changes compared to standard pure tone audiometry in industrial settings.