Noise Induced Hearing Loss In A Farming Population In Northeastern Colorado

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 108 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (644 download)

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Download or read book An Epidemiological Assessment of Ohio Farmers' Hearing Sensitivity written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common, and therefore one of the most investigated and well-documented, occupational hazards. A recent trend of investigating occupational hearing loss has been concentrated in the area of combined exposure. Studies have revealed that the interaction of noise and chemical exposure increases the risk and/or severity of hearing impairment. This suggests that exposure to chemicals either causes the auditory system to be more susceptible to the effects of noise or that it has an ototoxic affect that impacts the auditory system separately from noise. Studies have shown that independently from noise, the peripheral and central auditory systems are vulnerable to a variety of chemicals, solvents and possibly pesticides. The purpose of this hypothesis-generating study was to examine if a sample of Ohio farmers exhibited hearing loss, to determine the risk factors contributing to their hearing loss, to investigate the co-occurrence of pesticide exposure in this sample, and report key findings from the questionnaire data. To assess the hearing sensitivity of Ohio farmers several statistical models were employed to analyze the data, specifically the General Linear Model (GLM) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The principal findings were that: 1) this sample of Ohio farmers exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of hearing loss when compared to the general adult population; 2) recreational use of firearms, military service and age were found to be significant risk factors; 3) pesticide users did not show an increased risk of developing hearing loss when compared to non-pesticide users; 4) although 76% felt that personal protective devices were needed during the conduct of farm operations, 81% had no training in the prevention of occupational injuries or illnesses. Findings from this study suggest that some Ohio farmers may be at greater risk of hearing impairment. The reasons for this include firearms use, military service, lack of preventative occupational hazard training, as well as aging. They compare adversely with farmers who are significantly younger, have not been exposed to firearms, have not served in the military and were trained in occupational hazard prevention. The use of pesticides, however, did not increase the risk of hearing loss.