Noise at work could be hazardous, particularly after prolonged period of exposure. Sources of noise include generators, grinding machines, loud music at home, religious houses and clubs. The objective of this study was to find the auditory effects of noise and its effects on sawmill workers. This is a prospective, community based study involving sawmill workers in Ile-Ife. The prevalence of hearing loss was determined and the pattern of hearing loss was evaluated among the workers. Four hundred and twenty sawmill workers were recruited into the study of whom 410 were males and 10 females. The prevalence of hearing impairment was 89.7%. Ninety three of them had hearing threshold greater than 40 dB, and it was bilateral in all the cases. Tinnitus was present in 41 (9.8%) subjects. The main auditory effects of occupational noise among sawmill workers are hearing loss and tinnitus.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Noise is an unwanted sound which could possibly adversely impact an individual’s quality of life. The issue of occupational noise is of public health importance. Excessive noise can potentially affect the quality of life. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of occupational noise exposure on quality of life.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a prospective community based study involving sawmill workers in Ile-Ife. Library and administrative staff of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife were used as control. The quality of life of all participants was evaluated with World Health Organization Quality of Life bref questionnaire and a designed noise exposure evaluation questionnaire.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 420 subjects were recruited for the study and similar number for control. There was a negative correlation between occupational noise and the physical and psychological domains of quality of life.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Occupational noise level is associated with a reduction in the overall, physical and psychological components of the quality of life.</p>

BACKGROUND: Noise has been found to have non auditory effects. One of the possible non auditory effects of noise is its effect on blood pressure. Available data on the effect of noise on blood pressure has been found to vary. Hence, the aim of this study was to find if there is a predictive effect of noise on blood pressure. METHOD: Study was done among sawmill workers in Ile-Ife. The noise in each sawmill was measured with a sound meter and blood pressure of each participants were recorded. A regression analysis was done using systolic and diastolic blood pressures as dependent variables and noise as the predictor. RESULTS: A total of 420 sawmill workers were recruited into the study with an average age of 33.53&plusmn;8.59 years. The average noise level in the sawmill was 88&plusmn;1.87 dB and the average systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 132 &plusmn; 21mmHg and 85 &plusmn; 13mmHg respectively. There was no significant effect of noise on systolic blood pressure {F (1, 419) = 0.958, P&gt;0.05} but there was a significant effect of noise on diastolic pressure {F (1, 419) = 7.543, P&lt;0.05}. CONCLUSION: This study found that exposure to noise is a predisposing factor to increase in blood pressure.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common clinical problem with often refractory symptoms. Though computed tomography scan of the paranasal sinuses (PNS) is the radiological gold standard for confirming the diagnosis of CRS, it is not readily available and affordable in developing countries. Hence plain radiographs are heavily relied upon to confirm the diagnosis of CRS. The reliability and adequacy of plain sinus radiographs in combination with disease specific questionnaires in the management of CRS is still debatable. The objectives of the study were to determine the correlation between symptom severity score and findings on plain radiograph of the PNS in adult patients with CRS.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was an eight month prospective cross sectional study (April-November, 2014) of Fifty- two consecutive newly diagnosed adult patients with CRS.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Age of patients ranged from 19–91 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1.26. There was significant positive correlation between high and moderate symptom severity score (severe and moderate disease) with findings on plain radiograph of the PNS (p=0.032 and 0.048 respectively).</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The overall symptom severity score of CRS correlates with findings on the plain radiographs of patients with CRS especially in severe and moderate disease. </p>

Background: This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on cleft care services at a Nigerian tertiary health facility and the adaptations made during and after the population quarantine period. Methodology: A prospective and retrospective survey of all patients with orofacial cleft who had cleft surgeries, orthodontic interventions, and speech therapy in isolation or any of the combination was carried out. The survey period was divided into pre-COVID-19 lockdown period, the COVID-19 lockdown period, and the post-COVID-19 lockdown period with each of the periods spanning 4 months. The data which include: number of cleft clinic attendance, number of cleft surgical procedures, orthodontic interventions, and speech therapy session were retrieved from patients’ case records in the cleft and orthodontic clinics. The data was also reported for each period and represented as numbers and percentages. The trend of cleft services was plotted as line graphs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cleft care services is said to be significant when P value is <.005. Result: During the COVID-19 Lockdown period, there was a 66% drop in level of cleft clinic attendance, 78% drop in cleft surgeries, 78% drop in Orthodontic interventions, and a 58% drop in the number of Speech Therapy sessions. After the Lockdown period, the clinic attendance increased by a 190%, cleft surgeries rose by more than 10-fold, and the orthodontic interventions increased 10-fold. The speech therapy sessions dwindled further by 6% during the post-COVID-19 Lockdown period. The drop in cleft care service during the study period was significant ( P = .001). The post Lockdown surge in cleft care services was also statistically significant ( P = .001). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the volume of cleft care services but also with a significant rebound post-lockdown period.