Abstract:OBJETIVO: analisar o conforto do protetor auditivo individual como parte de uma intervenção para prevenção de perdas auditivas em trabalhadores expostos a elevados níveis de ruído, por meio da utilização de um questionário de avaliação de conforto. MÉTODO: realizou-se análise dos documentos da empresa, investigação do ruído e uso de protetor auditivo individual anterior, seleção do protetor auditivo individual, atividades educativas, aplicação de questionário e realização audiometrias. A população foi composta… Show more
“…Oral communication was the second most important aspect considered by workers, with a high mean score. Difficulties in oral communication when using hearing protectors are common complaints among workers (10,22) , which are considered by many authors as one of the main reasons so that workers do not use hearing protectors (10,12) . That is probably the reason why workers considered the oral communication aspect as important in this study.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Other studies also report worker's communication difficulty when using a hearing protector, because the environment noise associated with the sound barrier produced by the hearing protector makes it difficult the perception of environmental and communicational sounds (10,12,25) . With regard to Questionnaire 1, about the importance given by workers to each aspect of the hearing protectors assessed in this study, the analysis was done per manufacturing unit and the type of hearing protector used (Table 1).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Presumably, the higher the level of worker's awareness about the importance of hearing prevention, provided by the years accumulated in the manufacturing unit HPP, the higher the importance given to the aspects of the hearing protector. Other studies indicate the importance of awareness about the hearing loss prevention, contributing thus for a better assessment and acceptance of hearing protectors by workers who are exposed to intense noise (9,12,17,(27)(28)(29) . With regard to the assessment of aspects regarding hearing protectors used by workers (Questionnaire 2), it has been seen, in general, that the best-assessed aspect was hearing protector placement (considered as the closest to judging as "easy placing," according to the questionnaire scale).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To succeed in this issue, effective awareness actions should be implemented as part of the HPP (9,10) . Correct use of the most appropriate hearing protector for each labor situation is a hard task to the team developing the HPP, because it involves aspects such as the ability to work with people, communication and motivation art, use of supervision and control, and ergonomic issues associated with the hearing protector (11,12) . Some studies show that the hearing protector attenuation may be restricted based upon the worker's emplacement (13) .…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We must consider that discomfort from protector use should be minimized or excluded, whenever is possible (4) . Studies show a better use of hearing protectors after educational actions that not only share information but also aim at educating workers on the need of protecting themselves against an intense noise exposure (5,12,17) . Proposals of educational actions to workers as a part of the HPP, which stimulate a reflection about the noise impact and its effects in professional and social environments, through daring, objective, and integrative strategies that promote a space for speaking, hearing, and exchanging information and favor the awareness and adoption of more preventive attitudes regarding health (17,18) .…”
PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the workers' perception of comfort and use aspects regarding two types of hearing protectors (shell and earplug), in three units from a lumbering company, with different implantation times for Hearing Preservation Programs.METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study comparing 440 workers' perception of hearing protectors, from three companies in Paraná State (Brazil), with different times for Hearing Preservation Programs. Two closed questionnaires were applied (9 and 10 questions, respectively), with a scale of answers varying from 1 to 5 (Likert's scale) regarding the perception of the comfort of hearing protectors. Then, audiometry results were analyzed.RESULTS: About 17.5% presented audiogram examinations with alterations. With regard to the questionnaire about the comfort perception, the importance of noise attenuation (mean of 4.25) was the most relevant aspect, followed by communication possibility (mean of 4.15). In the protector assessment, Unit A with more Hearing Preservation Program time presented better scores for both the worker's perception of important aspects regarding hearing protector and for the assessment of the used hearing protector. There was a significant difference on communication difficulty with the use of a hearing protector among workers with normal and altered audiograms (p=0.0371). With regard to the global comfort in the comparison of workers using the shell-type hearing protector with those using insert-type hearing protectors, there was no difference (p=0.2264), irrespective of the type of the unit.CONCLUSION: In general, the unit workers presented a good perception of the important aspects about the hearing protection use of both types of hearing protectors.
“…Oral communication was the second most important aspect considered by workers, with a high mean score. Difficulties in oral communication when using hearing protectors are common complaints among workers (10,22) , which are considered by many authors as one of the main reasons so that workers do not use hearing protectors (10,12) . That is probably the reason why workers considered the oral communication aspect as important in this study.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Other studies also report worker's communication difficulty when using a hearing protector, because the environment noise associated with the sound barrier produced by the hearing protector makes it difficult the perception of environmental and communicational sounds (10,12,25) . With regard to Questionnaire 1, about the importance given by workers to each aspect of the hearing protectors assessed in this study, the analysis was done per manufacturing unit and the type of hearing protector used (Table 1).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Presumably, the higher the level of worker's awareness about the importance of hearing prevention, provided by the years accumulated in the manufacturing unit HPP, the higher the importance given to the aspects of the hearing protector. Other studies indicate the importance of awareness about the hearing loss prevention, contributing thus for a better assessment and acceptance of hearing protectors by workers who are exposed to intense noise (9,12,17,(27)(28)(29) . With regard to the assessment of aspects regarding hearing protectors used by workers (Questionnaire 2), it has been seen, in general, that the best-assessed aspect was hearing protector placement (considered as the closest to judging as "easy placing," according to the questionnaire scale).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To succeed in this issue, effective awareness actions should be implemented as part of the HPP (9,10) . Correct use of the most appropriate hearing protector for each labor situation is a hard task to the team developing the HPP, because it involves aspects such as the ability to work with people, communication and motivation art, use of supervision and control, and ergonomic issues associated with the hearing protector (11,12) . Some studies show that the hearing protector attenuation may be restricted based upon the worker's emplacement (13) .…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We must consider that discomfort from protector use should be minimized or excluded, whenever is possible (4) . Studies show a better use of hearing protectors after educational actions that not only share information but also aim at educating workers on the need of protecting themselves against an intense noise exposure (5,12,17) . Proposals of educational actions to workers as a part of the HPP, which stimulate a reflection about the noise impact and its effects in professional and social environments, through daring, objective, and integrative strategies that promote a space for speaking, hearing, and exchanging information and favor the awareness and adoption of more preventive attitudes regarding health (17,18) .…”
PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the workers' perception of comfort and use aspects regarding two types of hearing protectors (shell and earplug), in three units from a lumbering company, with different implantation times for Hearing Preservation Programs.METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study comparing 440 workers' perception of hearing protectors, from three companies in Paraná State (Brazil), with different times for Hearing Preservation Programs. Two closed questionnaires were applied (9 and 10 questions, respectively), with a scale of answers varying from 1 to 5 (Likert's scale) regarding the perception of the comfort of hearing protectors. Then, audiometry results were analyzed.RESULTS: About 17.5% presented audiogram examinations with alterations. With regard to the questionnaire about the comfort perception, the importance of noise attenuation (mean of 4.25) was the most relevant aspect, followed by communication possibility (mean of 4.15). In the protector assessment, Unit A with more Hearing Preservation Program time presented better scores for both the worker's perception of important aspects regarding hearing protector and for the assessment of the used hearing protector. There was a significant difference on communication difficulty with the use of a hearing protector among workers with normal and altered audiograms (p=0.0371). With regard to the global comfort in the comparison of workers using the shell-type hearing protector with those using insert-type hearing protectors, there was no difference (p=0.2264), irrespective of the type of the unit.CONCLUSION: In general, the unit workers presented a good perception of the important aspects about the hearing protection use of both types of hearing protectors.
Earplugs are a common form of protection for workers exposed to hazardous noise levels. Their comfort directly impacts the effective protection by influencing their consistent and correct use. Nevertheless, comfort definition may vary according to the studies. Thus, a previous review of the literature has shown that to improve our understanding of perceived comfort and to reduce measurement variability, it is advisable to consider comfort through a multidimensional construct (physical, acoustical, functional and psychological). On this basis, the COPROD questionnaire was developed. It is intended for people working in noisy environments. Nine earplug models were evaluated by 118 participants over a six-week period. This paper presents the successive analyses that were used to validate the structure of the questionnaire and confirm the relevance of the proposed dimensions and of the addressed items. First results suggest a preference for custom molded earplugs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.