Background: Noise is the most common hazardous agent at workplaces. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been known since the industrial revolution. Although NIHL is permanent, irreversible and frequent, it is preventable. The economic costs of NIHL have been estimated to be about billions of dollars. Besides, cigarette smoking is a common habit worldwide, and according to some recent studies smoking and noise may act in common causal pathways for hearing loss.
Objectives: After presbycusis, noise exposure is considered the second cause of sensorineural hearing loss. Due to exposure to high-intensity sounds, musicians may be at risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Given the importance of good hearing in music career, this study aimed to investigate the frequency of hearing loss and use of protective measures among Iranian musicians.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 125 musicians, including 21 women (16.8%) and 104 men (83.2%), with at least five years of work experience were recruited. All participants underwent clinical and audiometric examinations. Demographic data, complaints about hearing loss, and information about the use of protective devices were collected through interviews.Results: Audiometric notch in either one or both ears and bilateral hearing loss were present in respectively 42.4% and 19.2% of the participants. The history of tinnitus after performance and ear pain during performance was reported by 64 (51%) and 35 (28%) individuals, respectively. Less than 2% of the participants used hearing protection devices.Conclusions: Long-term exposure to loud sounds puts musicians at risk of hearing loss. However, due to their inadequate knowledge, most musicians never use protective devices to prevent damage to their auditory system.
Background: Night work is associated with disturbed sleep and wakefulness, particularly in relation to the night shift. Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are characterized by complaints of insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness that are primarily due to alterations in the internal circadian timing system or a misalignment between the timing of sleep and the 24-h social and physical environment.
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental
CABG). Material and Methods:Two hundred twenty-six working patients who volunteered and underwent a primary coronary artery bypass surgery between September 2013 and May 2014 were selected for the study and followed up for 6 months. Predictors of early return to work (RTW) (within 2 months) were analyzed from variables in a prospectively collected database and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire carried out in the hospital and rehabilitation center as well as from the follow-up performed via the phone. Results: One hundred and two (45.1%) and 155 (68.9%) patients returned to work within 2 and 3 months after the surgery, respectively. Furthermore, 196 patients (87.1%) returned to work within 6 months after the surgery. In the univariate analysis, demographic or socioeconomic factors (such as age, level of education, income), occupational factors (such as occupation type, working hours per week, duration of the preoperative absence from work), psychological factors (such as a patient's concern about adverse health effects of RTW, feeling depressed, a patient's attitude towards his/her ability to RTW and a patient's perception of his/her job stress level) and medical factors (such as serum troponin T and creatine kinase MB (CKMB) level, pump time in surgery, co-surgery and dyslipidemia history) had a statistically significant correlation with early return to work. The patients who early returned to work had significantly higher scores in 3 domains on the SF-36 questionnaire (used for assessing the patients' quality of life), compared to those who did not return to work early (including physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health and pain).
Conclusions:In the present study we identified 4 new medical factors that could be used as predictors of early return to work after CABG. These factors are: normal serum troponin T level, shorter pump time in surgery, normal mean arterial pressure (MAP) before the surgery and higher serum magnesium (Mg) levels. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(6):947-957
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