Key Findings from Research: Construction Worker Mortality Rises with Hearing Loss

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dement, John M. ; Ringen, Knut ; Cloeren, Marianne ; Almashat, Sammy ; Grier, William ; Quinn, Patricia ; Cranford, Kim ; Chen, Anna ; Haas, Scott
• Corporate Authors:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Description:
  Hearing loss is a common condition that tends to worsen with age. Construction workers, who are often exposed to high levels of noise on the job, are especially prone to noise-induced hearing loss. The Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (BTMed), managed by CPWR, provides health examinations for workers formerly employed in construction activities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons facilities. BTMed participants receive an initial exam and can return for a re-exam every three years. An audiometry test is included in the initial exam but not in a re-exam unless the participant requests it. This study focuses on 19,379 BTMed participants with audiometry data. Of those in the study participants, 8,081 (41.3%) had hearing loss in the frequency ranges of speech and 2,228 (15.3%) reported the use of hearing aids. Read the abstract: https://bit.ly/4ckQ2TJ. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Construction
  • Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Construction workers
  • Noise induced hearing loss
  • Noise exposure
  • Mortality rates
  • Epidemiology
  • Medical screening
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Subseries:
  Key Findings from Research
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region OSHA ; Maryland ; North Carolina ; Philadelphia Region OSHA
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1 pdf page
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071798
• Citation:
  Key findings from research. Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2026 Mar; :1
• Email:
  john.dement@duke.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  2009/09/01
• End Date:
  2024/08/31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260022/cdc_260022_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 39.18 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b82266c42ab0aa403444e16498be0fb0236fa14709983969738f27f117b85dfd3f47c6607783232946345f0f5bdc730597f51f49cbf43fd2d63d3dc96c32500