Noise is a common occupational health hazard in most industrial settings. An assessment of noise and its adverse health effects based on noise intensity is inadequate. For an efficient evaluation of noise effects, frequency spectrum analysis should also be included. This paper aims to substantiate the importance of studying the contribution of noise frequencies in evaluating health effects and their association with physiological behavior within human body. Additionally, a review of studies published between 1988 and 2009 that investigate the impact of industrial/occupational noise on auditory and non-auditory effects and the probable association and contribution of noise frequency components to these effects is presented. The relevant studies in English were identified in Medknow, Medline, Wiley, Elsevier, and Springer publications. Data were extracted from the studies that fulfilled the following criteria: title and/or abstract of the given study that involved industrial/occupational noise exposure in relation to auditory and non-auditory effects or health effects. Significant data on the study characteristics, including noise frequency characteristics, for assessment were considered in the study. It is demonstrated that only a few studies have considered the frequency contributions in their investigations to study auditory effects and not non-auditory effects. The data suggest that significant adverse health effects due to industrial noise include auditory and heart-related problems. The study provides a strong evidence for the claims that noise with a major frequency characteristic of around 4 kHz has auditory effects and being deficient in data fails to show any influence of noise frequency components on non-auditory effects. Furthermore, specific noise levels and frequencies predicting the corresponding health impacts have not yet been validated. There is a need for advance research to clarify the importance of the dominant noise frequency contribution in evaluating health effects.
A corollary to industrialization and urbanization is a significant increase in noise levels. In many industrial settings, the noise levels are such that they are potential health hazards. There are many studies which suggest that prolonged exposures to high noise levels have a negative impact on various aspects of human physiology. However, not much work has been conducted in studying the effects of various noise frequencies in the industrial environment. This paper has made an attempt to identify various noise frequency components to which the workers of six major industries in Mysore (Karnataka State, India) are being exposed, and their effects on the physical, physiological, and psychological systems of the working community with respect to their noisy industrial environment. The study results showed that the sampled industrial workers were repeatedly being exposed to noise of dominant low- and mid-octave band center frequencies. It is found that symptoms such as 'eye ball pressure,' 'awakening from sleep,' 'pains in neck,' 'frequent ear vibration,' 'chronic fatigue,' 'repeated headache,' 'backache,' and 'repeated ear pulsation' are observed to be highly associated with low- and mid-octave band center frequency noise exposure among the sampled workers. Furthermore, among the major psychological symptoms identified to be associated with octave band center frequencies, it is evident that 'irritability' is highly associated with low- and mid-octave band noise frequency characteristics.
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