Author : Yuzhang Huang
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781361299081
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (99 download)
Book Synopsis Effect of Earplug Use and Factors Associated with Noise Induced Hearing Loss Among Occupational Workers in Guangzhou, China by : Yuzhang Huang
Download or read book Effect of Earplug Use and Factors Associated with Noise Induced Hearing Loss Among Occupational Workers in Guangzhou, China written by Yuzhang Huang and published by . This book was released on 2017-01-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation, "Effect of Earplug Use and Factors Associated With Noise Induced Hearing Loss Among Occupational Workers in Guangzhou, China" by Yuzhang, Huang, 黄羽张, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Background: Noise is one of the most important forms of environmental pollution among developed and developing countries. A report from UK National Study of Hearing estimated that around 440 million people suffer from noise induced hearing loss in EU countries with 1-1.6 million disability-adjusted life year lost. In China, the Second China National Sample Survey on disability in 2007 revealed that about 27.8 million people suffered from hearing impairment, and 73.4% of which (about 20 million) were diagnosed with disability. The prevalence of hearing impairment was estimated to be 2.1% in the general population, and increased to 11.0% among those aged greater than 65 years. Objective: To find out the effect of earplug on noise induced hearing loss (NIHL), as well as understanding the source and exposure of noise in the industry, to estimate the prevalence of NIHL in factories with noise exposure, to analyze relationships between NIHL and age, sex, dose and duration of occupational noise exposure, type of work, use of hearing protection products, education level and other factors. Significant risk factors identified were used to provide evidence-based recommendations in prevention and control of NIHL. Study Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional study Method: A total of 1874 workers exposed to noise in a compressor factory in Guangzhou, China were included. Between September 2011 and January 2012, physical examination including a screening program of hearing loss, pure tone audiometry test were carried out among workers including information on age, sex, work types, noise exposure level, exposure time, as well as the questionnaire about earplug using status, status of using ear products report by company, smoking status, education level, discharge of ear, history of herpes zoster, history of using ototoxic drugs, history of ear surgery, family history of NIHL, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure. The outcome variable is the audiometric mean value which reflects hearing status of the subjects. Subgroup differences in mean value of audiometry were compared by independent sample t-test. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between earplug use and NIHL, adjusted for other potential confounders. Factors associated with earplug use were also identified. Result: 1873 workers took part in the study (both physical examination and questionnaire) The prevalence of NIHL is 381 (20.3%) from study, and an average noise level of 83.5 dB was detected in the factory across different types of working place. The pure tone audiometric mean value (PTA) is 26.7 dB with a standard deviation of 4.8. The mean PTA value for those using earplug is 25.81 dB, which was significantly lower than those not using earplug with a mean PTA value of 1.54 dB (p Multiple linear regression model showed a dose response effect in use of earplug on NIHL, with an estimated mean PTA 1.49 dB (p-value
