Application of the kurtosis statistic to the evaluation of the risk of hearing loss in workers exposed to high-level complex noise

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen S-S ; Cheng X-R ; Davis RI ; Hamernik RP ; Qiu W ; Zeng L ; Zhao Y-M
• Description:
  Objective: Develop dose-response relations for two groups of industrial workers exposed to Gaussian or non-Gaussian (complex) types of continuous noises and to investigate what role, if any, the kurtosis statistic can play in the evaluation of industrial noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Design: Audiometric and noise exposure data were acquired on a population (N = 195) of screened workers from a textile manufacturing plant and a metal fabrication facility located in Henan province of China. Thirty-two of the subjects were exposed to non-Gaussian (non-G) noise and 163 were exposed to a Gaussian (G) continuous noise. Each subject was given a general physical and an otologic examination. Hearing threshold levels (0.5-8.0 kHz) were age adjusted (ISO-1999) and the prevalence of NIHL at 3, 4, or 6 kHz was determined. The kurtosis metric, which is sensitive to the peak and temporal characteristics of a noise, was introduced into the calculation of the cumulative noise exposure metric. Using the prevalence of hearing loss and the cumulative noise exposure metric, a dose-response relation for the G and non-G noise-exposed groups was constructed. Results: An analysis of the noise environments in the two plants showed that the noise exposures in the textile plant were of a Gaussian type with an Leq(A)8hr that varied from 96 to 105 dB whereas the exposures in the metal fabrication facility with an Leq(A)8hr = 95 dB were of a non-G type containing high levels (up to 125 dB peak SPL) of impact noise. The kurtosis statistic was used to quantify the deviation of the non-G noise environment from the Gaussian. The dose-response relation for the non-G noise-exposed subjects showed a higher prevalence of hearing loss for a comparable cumulative noise exposure than did the G noise-exposed subjects. By introducing the kurtosis variable into the temporal component of the cumulative noise exposure calculation, the two dose-response curves could be made to overlap, essentially yielding an equivalent noise-induced effect for the two study groups. Conclusions: For the same exposure level, the prevalence of NIHL is greater in workers exposed to non-G noise environments than for workers exposed to G noise. The kurtosis metric may be a reasonable candidate for use in modifying exposure level calculations that are used to estimate the risk of NIHL from any type of noise exposure environment. However, studies involving a large number of workers with well-documented exposures are needed before a relation between a metric such as the kurtosis and the risk of hearing loss can be refined. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Men Noise Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Demographic-characteristics Exposure-levels Hearing-loss Humans Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Risk-factors Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0196-0202
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  31
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045075
• Citation:
  Ear Hear 2010 Aug; 31(4):527-532
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  Plattsburgh State University, Plattsburgh, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20080901
• Source Full Name:
  Ear and Hearing
• End Date:
  20120831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0239ce90b52400b3fc9c8d340fb37f350d35d3d5eb9714ed63f6c13249c1ec30f9ef6259a93c62adcd7babbcdab5027ca9adc834b2c9b94b6262671bc9b487fa
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200607/cdc_200607_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 203.96 KB ]