Auditory risk estimates for youth target shooting

Details

• Personal Author:
  Finan, Donald S. ; Flamme, Gregory A. ; Jerome TW ; Lankford, James E. ; Meinke, Deanna K. ; Murphy, William J. ; Soendergaard J ; Stewart M
• Description:
  Objective: To characterize the impulse noise exposure and auditory risk for youth recreational firearm users engaged in outdoor target shooting events. The youth shooting positions are typically standing or sitting at a table, which places the firearm closer to the ground or reflective surface when compared to adult shooters. Design: Acoustic characteristics were examined and the auditory risk estimates were evaluated using contemporary damage-risk criteria for unprotected adult listeners and the 120-dB peak limit suggested by the World Health Organization (1999) for children. Study sample: Impulses were generated by 26 firearm/ammunition configurations representing rifles, shotguns, and pistols used by youth. Measurements were obtained relative to a youth shooter's left ear. Results: All firearms generated peak levels that exceeded the 120 dB peak limit suggested by the WHO for children. In general, shooting from the seated position over a tabletop increases the peak levels, LAeq8 and reduces the unprotected maximum permissible exposures (MPEs) for both rifles and pistols. Pistols pose the greatest auditory risk when fired over a tabletop. Conclusion: Youth should utilize smaller caliber weapons, preferably from the standing position, and always wear hearing protection whenever engaging in shooting activities to reduce the risk for auditory damage. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Environmental Monitoring Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Acoustics Adolescents Auditory-system Auditory Risk Author Keywords: Firearms Children Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Hearing-loss Impulse-noise Impulse Noise Noise-analysis Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-induced Hearing Loss Noise-levels Noise-measurement Outdoors Recreational Shooting Risk-analysis Youth

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• ISSN:
  1499-2027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Illinois ; Michigan ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  53
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043875
• Citation:
  Int J Audiol 2014 Mar; 53(S2):S16-S25
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Audiology
• Supplement:
  S2
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38c68bf24f4cf8eb0d0cf1552848418d4ae8c96021ecd41e4009ebde86b1c740a7066865065e746eec50983aa4a914ee7f4ff0658a8100ac722013661bb86ca9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199749/cdc_199749_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 655.96 KB ]