Predictors of Hearing Threshold Levels and Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions Among Noise Exposed Young Adults

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kujawa SG ; Neitzel R ; Norton S ; Seixas, Noah S. ; Sheppard L ; Slee A
• Description:
  AIM: To examine the relations between noise exposure and other risk factors with hearing function as measured by audiometric thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emissions. METHODS: A total of 456 subjects were studied (393 apprentices in construction trades and 63 graduate students). Hearing and peripheral auditory function were quantified using standard, automated threshold audiometry, tympanometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The analysis addressed relations of noise exposure history and other risk factors with hearing threshold levels (HTLs) and DPOAEs at the baseline test for the cohort. RESULTS: The cohort had a mean age of 27 (7) years. The construction apprentices reported more noise exposure than students in both their occupational and non-occupational exposure histories. A strong effect of age and years of work in construction was observed at 4, 6, and 8 kHz for both HTLs and DPOAEs. Each year of construction work reported prior to baseline was associated with a 0.7 dB increase in HTL or 0.2 dB decrease DPOAE amplitude. Overall, there was a very similar pattern of effects between the HTLs and DPOAEs. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis shows a relatively good correspondence between the associations of noise exposures and other risk factors with DPOAEs and the associations observed with pure-tone audiometric thresholds in a young adult working population. The results provide further evidence that DPOAEs can be used to assess damage to hearing from a variety of exposures including noise. Clarifying advantages of DPOAEs or HTLs in terms of sensitivity to early manifestations of noise insults, or their utility in predicting future loss in hearing will require longitudinal follow up. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Construction Industry Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Age-groups Audiometry Construction-industry Construction-workers Exposure-levels Hearing-disorders Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Models Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Occupational-exposure

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  61
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029386
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2004 Nov; 61(11):899-907
• Email:
  nseixas@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20100831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7d7ac0b29ada0e4294039985ced0314f0e0cdd238bc7ea2165b40091a46caaf58e23843706e98b4760c413d5f29817b2f6a2b40af303ae9f9b2939b0eac6ff31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190374/cdc_190374_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 124.64 KB ]