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A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry
PURPOSE: Noise exposure is an important and highly prevalent occupational hazard in the construction industry. This study examines hearing threshold levels of a large population of Dutch construction workers and compares their hearing thresholds to those predicted by ISO-1999. METHODS: In this retro...
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Formato: | Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Springer-Verlag
2011
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3095795/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21203771 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0606-3 |
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author | Leensen, M. C. J. van Duivenbooden, J. C. Dreschler, W. A. |
author_facet | Leensen, M. C. J. van Duivenbooden, J. C. Dreschler, W. A. |
author_sort | Leensen, M. C. J. |
collection | PubMed |
description | PURPOSE: Noise exposure is an important and highly prevalent occupational hazard in the construction industry. This study examines hearing threshold levels of a large population of Dutch construction workers and compares their hearing thresholds to those predicted by ISO-1999. METHODS: In this retrospective study, medical records of periodic occupational health examinations of 29,644 construction workers are analysed. Pure-tone audiometric thresholds of noise-exposed workers are compared to a non-exposed control group and to ISO-1999 predictions. Regression analyses are conducted to explore the relationship between hearing loss and noise intensity, noise exposure time and the use of hearing protection. RESULTS: Noise-exposed workers had greater hearing losses compared to their non-noise-exposed colleagues and to the reference population reported in ISO-1999. Noise exposure explained only a small proportion of hearing loss. When the daily noise exposure level rose from 80 dB(A) towards 96 dB(A), only a minor increase in hearing loss is shown. The relation of exposure time and hearing loss found was similar to ISO-1999 predictions when looking at durations of 10 years or more. For the first decade, the population medians show poorer hearing than predicted by ISO-1999. DISCUSSION: Duration of noise exposure was a better predictor than noise exposure levels, probably because of the limitations in noise exposure estimations. In this population, noise-induced hearing loss was already present at the beginning of employment and increased at the same rate as is predicted for longer exposure durations. |
format | Text |
id | pubmed-3095795 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2011 |
publisher | Springer-Verlag |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-30957952011-07-07 A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry Leensen, M. C. J. van Duivenbooden, J. C. Dreschler, W. A. Int Arch Occup Environ Health Original Article PURPOSE: Noise exposure is an important and highly prevalent occupational hazard in the construction industry. This study examines hearing threshold levels of a large population of Dutch construction workers and compares their hearing thresholds to those predicted by ISO-1999. METHODS: In this retrospective study, medical records of periodic occupational health examinations of 29,644 construction workers are analysed. Pure-tone audiometric thresholds of noise-exposed workers are compared to a non-exposed control group and to ISO-1999 predictions. Regression analyses are conducted to explore the relationship between hearing loss and noise intensity, noise exposure time and the use of hearing protection. RESULTS: Noise-exposed workers had greater hearing losses compared to their non-noise-exposed colleagues and to the reference population reported in ISO-1999. Noise exposure explained only a small proportion of hearing loss. When the daily noise exposure level rose from 80 dB(A) towards 96 dB(A), only a minor increase in hearing loss is shown. The relation of exposure time and hearing loss found was similar to ISO-1999 predictions when looking at durations of 10 years or more. For the first decade, the population medians show poorer hearing than predicted by ISO-1999. DISCUSSION: Duration of noise exposure was a better predictor than noise exposure levels, probably because of the limitations in noise exposure estimations. In this population, noise-induced hearing loss was already present at the beginning of employment and increased at the same rate as is predicted for longer exposure durations. Springer-Verlag 2011-01-04 2011 /pmc/articles/PMC3095795/ /pubmed/21203771 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0606-3 Text en © The Author(s) 2010 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Original Article Leensen, M. C. J. van Duivenbooden, J. C. Dreschler, W. A. A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title | A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title_full | A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title_fullStr | A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title_full_unstemmed | A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title_short | A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry |
title_sort | retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the dutch construction industry |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3095795/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21203771 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0606-3 |
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