Noise Exposure and Hearing Conservation Practices in an Industry with High Incidence of Workers’ Compensation Claims for Hearing Loss

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daniell WE ; McDaniel MM ; Morgan MS ; Seixas, Noah S. ; Stebbins JG ; Swan SS
• Description:
  Washington State has experienced a striking increase in workers' compensation claims for hearing loss. This cross-sectional study examined noise exposures and hearing conservation practices in one industry with a high rate of hearing loss claims. We evaluated 10 representative foundries with personal noise dosimetry, management interviews, employee interviews, and existing audiometry. Noise levels routinely exceeded 85 dBA. All companies were out of compliance with hearing conservation regulations. Most employees with important findings on audiograms were not aware of their findings. There was a significant positive correlation between management-interview scores and worksite-average employee-interview scores (r = 0.70, P = 0.02). Companies where more effort is put into hearing conservation program activities can achieve a greater positive impact on employee awareness. However, there were broad deficiencies even in the better programs in this sample, suggesting that workers in this industry probably face a continuing substantial risk of occupational hearing loss. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Demography Epidemiology Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Author Keywords: Hearing Loss Demographic-characteristics Ear Protective Devices Hearing-conservation Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Hearing Tests Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise Induced Occupational-diseases Occupational-health Risk-analysis Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  309-317
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025947
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2002 Oct; 42(4):309-317
• Contact Point Address:
  William E. Daniell, Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195-7234
• Email:
  bdaniell@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20030929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bea842f331ac9df76ce718bd7b7276cb4b9ff6a562c5e56aa81bc9c6ad10f13be917548671ddd393a4c4a39f1e07be72dcc5c8e306284d68c978d3ffe2118d57
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197106/cdc_197106_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 135.90 KB ]