Early Indicators of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: Issues for Consideration

Details

• Personal Author:
  Franks, John R. ; Murphy, William J. ; Stephenson, Mark R.
• Description:
  The precursor of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) often is manifested by a marked shift in the hearing at audiometric frequencies 2 to 6 kHz with a recovery at frequencies above the shift. The noise-induced notch index has been proposed as the difference between the pure-tone averages of 2, 3 and 4 kHz and the pure tone average at 1 and 8 kHz [Rabinowitz and Dobie, Spectrum, 20:8-11, 2003]. The notch index and two variants of the calculation were tested against a set of 3320 audiograms collected from subjects that participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES IV) during the years 1999 and 2000. A strict notch definition yielded 397 audiograms that contained a notch. Three variations of the notch index were tested using the subset of audiograms. The average difference in pure-tone averages using 2, 3 and 4 kHz had a mean notch index of 0.5 + 6.1 dB. The average difference in pure-tone averages using 2, 3. 4 and 6 kHz had a mean notch index of 4.1 + 2.9 dB. The average area difference using 2, 3, 4 and 6 kHz had a mean notch index of 7.4 + 6.3 dB. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the notch index is more effective when 6 kHz is included in determining whether a subject has a noise-induced notch. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Audiofrequency Audiometry Hearing-loss Noise-exposure Noise-frequencies Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels
• ISSN:
  1083-7388
• Publisher:
  National Hearing Conservation Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24
• Volume:
  22
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029050
• Citation:
  Spectrum 2005 Feb; 22(Suppl 1):24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss ; Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Spectrum: the National Hearing Conservation Association newsletter
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:70ae8e5c1268098b478e8b946fb81eec210d9f413be146d5fca20b5accca4cf3a3ca73ab09631bfdad1ae464070cff652ea951db49d71d13a0a1798e18fc8ed9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190122/cdc_190122_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 395.90 KB ]