A hearing conservation program for Wisconsin youth working in agriculture

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Adolescent Health
• Audiology

Background:

• Agricultural work exposes adolescents to hazardous noise levels, increasing risks of noise-induced hearing loss.
• Existing hearing protection measures for this demographic are often insufficient.
• A proactive approach is needed to conserve hearing in young agricultural workers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, implement, and evaluate a school-based hearing conservation program (HCP) for adolescents in agricultural settings.
• To assess the effectiveness of educational strategies and hearing protection devices (HPD) in preventing noise-induced hearing loss.
• To determine the feasibility and impact of a long-term HCP on adolescent hearing protection behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A four-year, randomized controlled trial involving 34 schools and 753 students (junior and senior high).
• Schools were assigned to either an intervention group (multicomponent educational strategies, industrial HCP features) or a control group.
• Intervention included distribution of hearing protection devices (HPD) and annual hearing tests.

Main Results:

• 87.5% of intervention students reported using hearing protection devices (HPD) compared to 45% of control students.
• Distribution of HPDs for farm use and yearly hearing tests were the most influential HCP components.
• 80% of intervention students intended to use HPDs in the future, indicating a positive behavioral shift.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a hearing conservation program (HCP) in schools is feasible for junior and senior high students.
• Adolescents can be persuaded to adopt hearing protection behaviors when working on farms.
• School-based HCPs are effective in increasing hearing protection device (HPD) usage and intent to use among adolescent agricultural workers.