The Combined Impact of Hand-Arm Vibration and Noise Exposure on Hearing Sensitivity of Agricultural/Forestry Workers—A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Hand-arm vibration (HAV), which potentially causes vibration white finger (VWF), and occupational noise are serious issues in the agricultural and forestry industries. Generally, agricultural workers operate as single-family/small businesses and thus are exempted from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations/laws for noise and HAV otherwise applicable to other industries in general. The agricultural/forestry sectors are at increased risk as working hours are longer than a typical 8-h work shift putting them at greater risk of hearing loss. The study was conducted to assess the possible association between hearing sensitivity on combined exposure to noise and hand-arm vibration. A systematic literature review was conducted on exposure to noise and HAV in the agricultural/forestry sector and the resulting impacts on hearing. The peer-reviewed articles in English were searched with 14 search words in three databases of PubMed, Ergo Abstracts, and Web of Science without any filter for the year for fully available article text. The database literature search resulted in 72 articles. Forty-seven (47) articles met the search criteria based on the title. Abstracts were then reviewed for any relationship between hearing loss and hand-arm vibration/Raynaud’s phenomenon/VWF. This left 18 articles. It was found that most agricultural workers and chainsaw workers are exposed to noise and VWF. Hearing is impacted by both noise and aging. The workers exposed to HAV and noise had greater hearing loss than non-exposed workers, possibly due to the additive effect on temporary threshold shift (TTS). It was found that VWF might be associated with vasospasm in the cochlea through autonomous vascular reflexes, digital arteries narrowing, vasoconstriction in the inner ear by noise, ischemic damage to the hair cells and increased oxygen demand, which significantly affects the correlation between VWF and hearing loss.

Recent trends in reduction of hand arm vibration syndrome for agricultural handheld equipment: A review based on challenges and future directions

“…This occupational disease progresses through three unique stages: vascular, sensorineural, and musculoskeletal. [6][7][8] HAVS development is a complicated process impacted by a variety of factors. The frequency and magnitude of the transmitted vibrations are important variables, with a frequency range of 5 to 2000 Hz being most dangerous.…”

Vibro-Acoustic Assessment of Grain Grinding Machine for Health Risk Factors Analysis

“…Conversely, while assessing the health and safety of employees, in addition to exposure to chemical substances, dust, heat, musculoskeletal disorders, vibration, and noise in agriculture are other significant risk factors that must be considered [9], [16]- [19]. The average limit to noise exposure by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for a time-weighted average (TWA) of eight hours duration is 86.1 6.2 dBA and 90.2 5.1 dBA for the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [20]. The limit of human exposure to vibration as determined by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and accepted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration on daily exposure to whole-body vibration for action is 0.5 m/s 2 , with a limit of 1.15 m/s 2 for the frequency-weighted root mean square acceleration.…”

Energy Consumption and Cutting Performance of Battery-Powered Chainsaws

“…The petrol-powered chainsaw has a lower energy consumption per unit compared to the harvester [3,5], but due to the two-stroke engine, the emission of harmful exhaust gases is very unfavorable [6]. In addition to harmful exhaust gases, Forests 2023, 14, 1329 2 of 11 operators are also exposed to a high noise level [7] which can lead to hearing loss [8], as well as the harmful impact of vibrations transmitted to the hand-arm system [9].…”