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Occupational exposure to noise and hearing difficulties in Great Britain

Occupational exposure to noise and hearing difficulties in Great Britain
Occupational exposure to noise and hearing difficulties in Great Britain
The objectives of this research were to determine the prevalence of self-reported hearing difficulties and tinnitus in working-aged people from the general population, and to estimate the risks from occupational exposure to noise and the number of attributable cases nationally.
A questionnaire was mailed to 22 194 adults of working age selected at random from the age-sex registers of 34 British general practices (21 201 subjects) and from the central pay records of the British armed services (993 subjects). Information was collected on years of employment in a noisy job; and whether the respondent wore a hearing aid, had difficulty in hearing conversation, or had persistent tinnitus over the past year.
Some 2% of subjects reported severe hearing difficulties (wearing a hearing aid or having great difficulty in both ears on hearing conversation in a quiet room). In men, the prevalence of this outcome rose steeply with age, from below 1% in those aged 16-24 years to 8% in those aged 55-64. The pattern was similar in women, but with severe hearing loss was only about half as prevalent in the oldest age band. In both sexes, after adjustment for age, the risk of severe hearing difficulty and persistent tinnitus rose with years spent in a noisy job.
In conclusion, significant hearing difficulties and tinnitus are quite common in men from the older working age range. Both are strongly associated with years spent in a noisy occupation - predominantly male exposure. The national burden of hearing difficulties attributable to noise at work is substantial.
research, occupational exposure, vibration, noise at work, deafness, sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aid
0717620875
361
HSE Books
Palmer, Keith T.
0cfe63f0-1d33-40ff-ae8c-6c33601df850
Coggon, David
2b43ce0a-cc61-4d86-b15d-794208ffa5d3
Syddall, Holly E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Pannett, Brian
b7b76889-3b34-4d02-9f12-600265cb0048
Griffin, Michael J.
24112494-9774-40cb-91b7-5b4afe3c41b8
Palmer, Keith T.
0cfe63f0-1d33-40ff-ae8c-6c33601df850
Coggon, David
2b43ce0a-cc61-4d86-b15d-794208ffa5d3
Syddall, Holly E.
a0181a93-8fc3-4998-a996-7963f0128328
Pannett, Brian
b7b76889-3b34-4d02-9f12-600265cb0048
Griffin, Michael J.
24112494-9774-40cb-91b7-5b4afe3c41b8

Palmer, Keith T., Coggon, David, Syddall, Holly E., Pannett, Brian and Griffin, Michael J. (2001) Occupational exposure to noise and hearing difficulties in Great Britain (Contract Research Report, 361), Suffolk, England. HSE Books, 61pp.

Record type: Book

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to determine the prevalence of self-reported hearing difficulties and tinnitus in working-aged people from the general population, and to estimate the risks from occupational exposure to noise and the number of attributable cases nationally.
A questionnaire was mailed to 22 194 adults of working age selected at random from the age-sex registers of 34 British general practices (21 201 subjects) and from the central pay records of the British armed services (993 subjects). Information was collected on years of employment in a noisy job; and whether the respondent wore a hearing aid, had difficulty in hearing conversation, or had persistent tinnitus over the past year.
Some 2% of subjects reported severe hearing difficulties (wearing a hearing aid or having great difficulty in both ears on hearing conversation in a quiet room). In men, the prevalence of this outcome rose steeply with age, from below 1% in those aged 16-24 years to 8% in those aged 55-64. The pattern was similar in women, but with severe hearing loss was only about half as prevalent in the oldest age band. In both sexes, after adjustment for age, the risk of severe hearing difficulty and persistent tinnitus rose with years spent in a noisy job.
In conclusion, significant hearing difficulties and tinnitus are quite common in men from the older working age range. Both are strongly associated with years spent in a noisy occupation - predominantly male exposure. The national burden of hearing difficulties attributable to noise at work is substantial.

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More information

Published date: 2001
Additional Information: Contract research report no. 361/2001 (CRR361)(CRR 361)
Keywords: research, occupational exposure, vibration, noise at work, deafness, sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aid
Organisations: Human Sciences Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 10552
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/10552
ISBN: 0717620875
PURE UUID: 89c86ec1-d2fd-4d75-97b5-09f52c9d132f
ORCID for David Coggon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1930-3987
ORCID for Holly E. Syddall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0171-0306
ORCID for Michael J. Griffin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0743-9502

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Feb 2006
Last modified: 01 Mar 2024 02:36

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Contributors

Author: Keith T. Palmer
Author: David Coggon ORCID iD
Author: Brian Pannett
Author: Michael J. Griffin ORCID iD

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