Effect of noise on hearing loss among workers in a fastener manufacturing enterprise
MENG Pan, WU Yikang, HU Zan, WU Daming, SHI Zhihao, ZHOU Zhehua
Department of Environment and Health (Department of Occupational Health and Radiation Protection), Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing, Zhejiang 314050, China
Abstract：Objective To investigate the current status of hearing loss in a fastener manufacturing enterprise, and to analyze its influencing factors, so as to provide insights into occupational disease prevention and control. Methods The occupational health examination data of noise exposed workers and the workplace occupational disease hazard factors detection data in a fastener manufacturing enterprise in Jiaxing City in 2022 were collected through the Occupational Disease and Occupational Health Hazard Factors Detection System of China Disease Prevention and Control Information System, and factors affecting the development of high-frequency noise-induced hearing loss (HFNIHL) and speech-frequency noise-induced hearing loss (SFNIHL) were analyzed. Results Totally 625 workers were investigated, with a median age of 44.00 (interquartile range, 13.00) years and a median length of service of 8.00 (interquartile range, 9.00) years, and including 519 men (83.04%) and 106 women (16.96%). There were 309 workers with single noise exposure (49.44%) and 316 workers with joint noise exposure (50.56%), and 518 workers exposed to noise with the normalized continuous A-weighted sound pressure level equivalent to a 40 h working week (LEX,40 h) that exceeded the national standard (82.88%). The detection rates of HFNIHL and SFNIHL were 49.12% and 35.04%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that males (OR=10.528, 95%CI: 5.271-21.025), length of service of 10 years and longer (OR=2.451, 95%CI: 1.599-3.759), LEX,40 h of >85 dB (A) (OR=2.227, 95%CI: 1.318-3.764) and joint noise exposure (OR=3.002, 95%CI: 2.080-4.334) were associated with an increased risk of HFNIHL, and male (OR=9.400, 95%CI: 4.211-20.985), LEX,40 h of >85 dB (A) (OR=2.305, 95%CI: 1.345-3.951), and joint noise exposure (OR=3.880, 95%CI: 2.677-5.623) were associated with an increased risk of SFNIHL. Conclusion Gender, length of service, noise intensity and exposure mode are factors affecting the risk of HFNIHL, while gender, noise intensity and exposure mode are factors affecting the risk of SFNIHL.
