A cross sectional study to determine the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing impairment was conducted on 286 male subjects from a rural area. The sample was chosen by using a simple random sampling method. Prevalence of symptoms of tinnitus, ear disease, ear drum perforation and infection of external auditory meatus was 19.0 per cent, 6.7 per cent, 3.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively. Air conduction audiometry tests showed the prevalences of hearing impairment of the left, right and both ears (aged 15-30 years) were 5.9%, 8.8% and 0% respectively. The prevalence of hearing loss increased with age. The higher frequencies (> 4KHz) appeared to be more affected than the lower frequencies.
cent ; Hearing Loss, Partial ; Deafness ; Statistical Prevalence ; Prevalence aspects

A cross sectional study on work stress prevalence was carried out among 185 executives and managers in the head quarter of an international tobacco company. The aim of the study was to identify work stress prevalence in this company and work stressors that were associated with stress experienced by the workers. A questionnaire based on the Personal Stress Inventory by O'Donell (1984) was used. Data collected from participants included sociodemography factors, symptoms of stress and work stressors related to organizational policy, organizational structure, organizational process, and work environment. The study showed that the prevalence of stress among executives was 68.1% and managers were 67.9%. There was no significant difference in the level of stress between the executives and the managers in the company. The sociodemographic factors that were significantly associated with stress were salary, number of children and personal factors. The significant stressors in the workplace were lack of job recognition, over focusing on quality of work, heavy workload and long working hours.

A cross sectional study was carried out to determine the relationship between dust exposure and pulmonary function in male steel workers in Terengganu, Malaysia. The investigation included spirometric testing and detailed personal interviews using a structured questionnaire adopted from British Medical Research Council (BRMC) Questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. Respiratory symptoms commonly reported by the male workers were morning phlegm (33.1%), shortness of breath (31.9%), chest tightness (30.4%), and morning cough (17.8%). Age and duration of employment were among the factors associated with respiratory symptoms (p<0.05 and p<0.001 respectively). Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) was significantly reduced when compared to the healthy population. There was a significant decrease of FEV1 between before and after work shift (t= 3.582, p<0.001). Smoking status, age, and duration of employment were also associated with reduction of pulmonary function (p<0.01).