Brief high-level sounds.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Flamme, Gregory A. ; Murphy, William J.
• Description:
  A wide range of people are exposed to brief high-level sounds. Exposures to impulse noise from guns are common for those in military and law enforcement occupations, which account for approximately 3.4 million workers in the US. (Lockard & Wolf, 2012). Rapid chemical reactions involved in automotive airbag deployment might also produce auditory effects (Passaliet al., 2003). In addition, people of all ages are exposed to noise from fire crackers and other fireworks that could be intense enough to damage the auditory system. Approximately 386 million pounds of consumer fireworks were sold in the U.S. in 2020 (American Pyrotechnics Association, 2021). Recreational firearm use is also common in the US, with estimates of 83 to 97 civilian firearms per 100 persons (Small Arms Survey, 2007) Firearm use emerges at the population level as a significant risk factor for hearing loss. The prevalence of bilateral mid-frequency hearing loss (0.5-4kHz, average greater than 25dB HL) among people reporting no history of firearm use was 2.6% less than for non-shooters (5.4 versus 8.0%, respectively), and the prevalence increased to 10.8% for heavy shooters. The prevalence of bilateral high-frequency hearing loss is greater and shows greater differences across levels of shooting history (14.4, 22.1, and 31.7%, respectively [Hoffman at al., 2016]). Our examination of responses from approximately 37,000 participants in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey suggested that 52% (95% CI: 51% to 54%) of adult men and 22% (95% CI:21% to 23%) of adult women report having fired a gun at some point during their lives. A small proportion of these people (15% of men and 5% of women) with a history of firearm use indicated that firearm use was solely for occupational purposes. About 44% of men (14%of women) reporting a history of firearm use have fired at least 1000 rounds during their lifetimes. The rates of hearing protector use among target shooters is somewhat higher than for hunters (Stewart et al., 2011). Impact noise exposures can be expected for construction, manufacturing, and agricultural workers, who account for almost 16 million workers in the U5. (US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). In addition, many home improvement and repair tasks can involve the use of tools that produce impact noises, and automotive airbags can produce high-level sounds that might produce temporary threshold shift (Sommer & Nixon, 1973). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Hearing Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Law Enforcement Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Sound; Noise exposure; Noise induced hearing loss; Military personnel; Law enforcement workers; Automobile safety; Auditory system; Hearing protection; Protective measures; Impact noise
• ISBN:
  9781950286072
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  99-122
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065857
• Citation:
  The noise manual, sixth edition. Meinke DK, Berger EH, Neitzel RL, Driscoll DP, Bright K eds. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2022 Jan; :99-122
• Editor(s):
  Meinke DK; Berger EH; Neitzel RL; Driscoll DP; Bright K
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The noise manual, sixth edition
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a54f050460237b7e7efac99a8c83390d5e2d0d6d7e2f5131b47a8016724ab2f21e2710a8a57ef8771896c3a407b7bdfcf225a7900083fa1991b63c83d39dd237
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248802/cdc_248802_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 40.11 MB ]