Self-Reported Noise Exposures Among Ohio Cash Grain Farmers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bean TL ; Crawford JM ; Eicher LC ; Engelhardt HL ; Jones LA ; Mitchell GL ; Wilkins JR III
• Description:
  As part of the NIOSH-funded Ohio Farm Family Health and Hazard Survey (OFFHHS), self-reported noise exposure data were collected from more than 1,700 Principal Operators (POs) of cash grain farms. Information on exposure to occupational and non-occupational noise sources was obtained by means of a statewide mixed-mode survey.With respect to occupational sources, nearly all survey respondents reported a history of cabless tractor operation, approximately 80% had operated a chain saw, and approximately 70% had operated a combine. About 1/3 respondents reported current employment in a noisy job in addition to farming, while nearly 20% reported a history of non-agricultural noisy employment. The most frequently reported nonoccupational sources of noise exposure were hunting (51.5% of respondents), motorcycle riding (21.2%), and target shooting (20.5%). Self-reported equipmentspecific data on total years of operation or use, days of operation or use per year, and mean hours of operation or use per day were used to estimate lifetime hours of exposure to noisy activities/tasks. Of the more than 61 million cumulative lifetime hours of exposure reported by the 1,700+ respondents, more than half was accounted for by operation of cabless tractors. In addition, 2/3 respondents reported they never wear hearing protection when they operate or are around noisy farm equipment. Attempts to identify factors associated with use of hearing protection revealed that although the prevalence of usage varied by age and education, use was poor across all subgroups examined, suggesting that agricultural workers of all ages and levels of education would benefit from interventions designed to reduce the incidence of noise induced hearing loss. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Epidemiology Farmers Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Noise Exposure Farmworkers Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Hearing Loss Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-sources Occupational-health Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Safety-measures Statistical-analysis Training

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• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  79-88
• Volume:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025126
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 1998 May; 4(Special Issue 1):79-88
• Contact Point Address:
  J. R. Wilkins III, OSU School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Biometrics, 320 W. 10th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210-1240
• Email:
  jrw+@osu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b50f4394e134984bf97abb73c320472ad0715cfa45283c17e9538e69f169a122263b2d0a6c775f0df5de8acce9293c8275faacf1baa6cc622cbc97cd5d8dbc3b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196616/cdc_196616_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 98.47 KB ]