Randomized trial of a hearing conservation intervention for rural students: long-term outcomes

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berg RL ; Broste SK ; Kirkhorn SR ; Knobloch MJ ; Linneman JG ; Marlenga B ; Pickett W ; Wood DJ
• Description:
  OBJECTIVES: We had the rare opportunity to conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial to observe the long-term (16-year) effects of a well-designed hearing conservation intervention for rural high school students. This trial assessed whether the intervention resulted in (1) reduced prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) assessed clinically and/or (2) sustained use of hearing protection devices. METHODS: In 1992-1996, 34 rural Wisconsin schools were recruited and 17 were assigned randomly to receive a comprehensive, 3-year, hearing conservation intervention. In 2009-2010, extensive efforts were made to find and contact all students who completed the original trial. Participants in the 16-year follow-up study completed an exposure history questionnaire and a clinical audiometric examination. Rates of NIHL and use of hearing protection were compared. RESULTS: We recruited 392 participants from the original trial, 200 (53%) from the intervention group and 192 (51%) from the control group. Among participants with exposure to agricultural noise, the intervention group reported significantly greater use of hearing protection compared with the control group (25.9% vs 19.6%; P = .015). The intervention group also reported significantly greater use of hearing protection for shooting guns (56.2% vs 41.6%; P = .029), but the groups reported similar uses of protection in other contexts. There was no significant difference between groups with respect to objective measures of NIHL. CONCLUSION: This novel trial provides objective evidence that a comprehensive educational intervention by itself may be of limited effectiveness in preventing NIHL in a young rural population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Agriculture Ear Education Environmental Monitoring Hearing Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age-groups Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Audiological-testing Audiometry Author Keywords: Agriculture Ear-protection Ear-protectors Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Hearing-conservation Hearing-level Hearing-protection Hearing-tests Hearing Conservation Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-induced Hearing Loss Noise-levels Noise-sources Randomized Controlled Trial Work-areas Work-environment Work-operations Work-practices Youths

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• ISSN:
  0031-4005
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  128
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040250
• Citation:
  Pediatrics 2011 Nov; 128(5):e1139-e1146
• Contact Point Address:
  Barbara Marlenga, National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI 54449
• Email:
  marlenga.barbara@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080801
• Source Full Name:
  Pediatrics
• End Date:
  20120731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fd47c3ee6d022df3f2af6a2d39eecab90ac3d7c74db6b57bb8be51ff3a9f08e199935b38621f49f055dbbc60d5909644cd32dfa85ce8f63e494276a168890d71
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193191/cdc_193191_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.55 KB ]