Prevention of the Evolution of Workers' Hearing Loss from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Noisy Environments through a Hearing Conservation Program

Abstract

Introduction Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a serious problem for workers and therefore for businesses. The hearing conservation program (HCP) is a set of coordinated measures to prevent the development or evolution of occupational hearing loss, which involves a continuous and dynamic process of implementation of hearing conservation routines through anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and subsequent control of the occurrence of existing environmental risks or of those that may exist in the workplace and lead to workers' hearing damage. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the HCP in preventing further hearing loss in workers with audiograms suggestive of NIHL. The audiometric tests and medical records of 28 furniture company workers exposed to noise were reviewed and monitored for 2 years. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study examined five audiometric tests in the medical records (on admission and every semester) of 28 workers in a furniture company (totaling 140 audiometric exams) following the introduction of the HCP. Results Data analysis showed no differences between the audiometric tests conducted on admission and those performed every semester. Conclusions The HCP implemented was effective in preventing the worsening of hearing loss in workers already with NIHL when exposed to occupational noise. Therefore, such a measure could be useful for the employment of workers with hearing loss in job sectors that have noise exposure.

Experience and Awareness of Health Managers, Administrators, and Workers on a Hearing Conservation Program in Korea: A Qualitative Study

“…However, one of the participants in this study who is performing well in the hearing conservation program showed that hearing loss problems could be minimized if the hearing conservation program is adequately performed with constant attention expressed. It is essential to actively share and promote the experience of a workplace that has successfully implemented a hearing conservation program to other workplaces [11,18,19]. As one labor supervisor pointed out, sharing engineering control between workplaces can be strenuous in reality regarding intellectual property rights.…”

“…The implementation of a hearing conservation-related program in the workplace is an obligation of employers and can prevent and reduce the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss [10][11][12]. Current legislation of hearing conservation is, however, theoretical rather than practical, and a lack of individual working environment considerations prevents compliance with the hearing conservation program [13].…”

Association between Noise Exposure and Quality of Life among People Living Near Stone-Mortar Factories, Phayao Province, Northern Thailand

“…(Landen et al, 2004;Huang et al, 2018). Additionally, several studies have suggested that the sources of noise pollution should be provided engineering controls, administrative controls, and work practices to loud noise (WHO, 2001;Fonseca et al, 2016).…”

Hearing prevention program: how speech-language pathologists and audiologists work in the occupational health area

“…However, in daily life, speech-language pathologists/audiologists' intervention is still limited, in the Occupational Health area, to workers exposed to ototoxic agents (noise and chemicals, for example). Many professionals merely diagnose hearing loss, neglecting preventive practices and the implementation of a complete Hearing Prevention Program [8][9][10][11] . The question asked by the authors in this study is: Is that limitation in their activities due to speech-language pathologists/audiologists' inexperience in this area, or is it due to the non-compliance of the legislation, which demands the HPP implementation in companies/ institutions?…”