Objective: To get insight into the current practice of noise reduction effect of workers as they wore hearing protectors in different domestic enterprises and the possible affected factors. Methods: From October 2020 to April 2021, using a random sampling method, 1197 workers exposed to noise in petrochemical factories, textile factories, and parts manufacturing factories were selected as the study subjects. The noise reduction effect of hearing protectors worn by workers in daily use was tested using a hearing protector suitability testing system. The personal sound attenuation level (PAR) was compared among workers in three enterprises, Targeted intervention and repetitive testing were conducted for workers who did not meet the noise reduction effect required by the enterprise, and the changes in PAR of workers before and after the intervention were compared. The comparison of baseline PARs between two or more groups was performed using the Mann Whitney test, the comparison of baseline PARs with post intervention PARs was performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank sum test, and the comparison of qualitative data between two or more groups was performed using the Chi square test. Results: The median baseline PAR for all workers was 15 dB. Men, age<30 years old, education level at or above college level, working experience of 5 to 15 years, and those who used hearing protectors for 5 to 15 years had higher PARs, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). The median difference in baseline PAR among workers from three enterprises was statistically significant (H=175.06, P<0.01). The median PAR of subjects who did not pass the baseline increased from 3 dB to 21 dB after intervention (Z=-27.92, P<0.01) . Conclusion: Some workers wearing hearing protectors do not meet the required PAR, and low PARs may be related to incorrect wearing methods and incorrect selection of hearing protectors. As a tool for testing, training, and assisting in selection, the hearing protector suitability testing system is of great significance for worker hearing protection.
Male ; Humans ; Adult ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/prevention & control* ; Ear Protective Devices ; Noise, Occupational/prevention & control* ; Hearing ; Audiometry

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current situation of virus exposure risk incidents of nurses against corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, and to provide reference evidence for nursing managers to protect nursing staff who were working in the isolation ward. METHODS: In the study, 308 nursing staff against COVID-19 working in the isolation ward in Wuhan were conveniently selected to participate in the investigation. The designed questionnaires including 7 kinds of protective exposure risk events were made by the team of researchers on the basis of literature review and interview with the nurses in Wuhan. All the participants recalled their working experience in the status of dressing in personal protective equipment and filled in the questionnaires online by WeChat according to the same instruction. RESULTS: The questionnaires were filled in validly by a total of 304 nursing staff, of whom 88.8% received emergency training on the prevention and dealing measurement of exposure risk events. The incidence of shoe cover contamination, falling off or torn was relatively high, about 53.6%. Due to the protection of gloves, the incidence of hand or skin contamination was relatively low, about 14.1%. The most nervousness of protective exposure risk event for nurses was N95 mask contamination, falling off or shifting, with a score of 8.2±2.3, showing a higher psychiatric burden. Single factor analysis found that the number of days in Wuhan was different, the number of the types of protective risk events occurred was different (χ²=14.562, P=0.024), orderly multivariate Logistic regression found that men were the independent protective factor for the number of the types of protective exposure risk events that occurred (P=0.019). CONCLUSION Protective exposure risk events may occur in the work of nursing staff working in the isolation ward in Wuhan. It is necessary to guide nurses to prevent the occurrence of protective exposure risk events and effectively deal with them, so as to prevent virus exposure and reduce psycholo-gical burden.
Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; China ; Coronavirus Infections/transmission* ; Ear Protective Devices ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Exposure/prevention & control* ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Pneumonia, Viral/transmission* ; Risk Factors ; SARS-CoV-2

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of occupational hazards and personal protective equipment use among dental hygienists (DHs).METHODS: A total of 271 self-administered questionnaires were obtained from 280 DHs working at dental hospitals or clinics in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea.RESULTS: The occupational hazards included work involving dust (94.1%), volatile substances (86.0%), noise (97.0%), and light-curing units (96.7%). The proportion of dental hygiene tasks that participants perceived as harmful were 42.4%, 51.7%, 9.2%, and 31.4% in the same order as above. The proportion of participants who used dust-proof masks during work involving dust was 1.1%. Those who wore gas-proof masks and gloves for work using volatile substances were 0.7% and 31.2%, respectively. Participants who used goggles for work involving light-curing units were 31.0%. None of the participants used ear plugs for work involving noise. A total of 22.9% of the participants recognized the Material Safety Data Sheet, while 79.7% had never been educated about harmful work environments.CONCLUSION: When compared to exposure status and perception of occupational hazards, the level of protective equipment use was very low. Extra measures to increase DHs’ use of personal protective equipment are necessary.
Daegu ; Dental Hygienists ; Dust ; Ear ; Eye Protective Devices ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Masks ; Material Safety Data Sheets ; Noise ; Occupations ; Oral Hygiene ; Personal Protective Equipment

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of music intervention on environmental stress and sleep quality in liver transplant patients who are receiving care in one-person isolation rooms of an ICU. METHODS: The study was a quasi-experimental design pre-and-post nonequivalent control group. Participants were 37 patients (18 in the experimental group and 19 in the control group) who, after receiving liver transplant, were hospitalized in one-person isolation rooms of the ICU. The study covered patients admitted between August 2016 and December 2017. Earplugs and sleep shades were provided as ordinary care to both experimental and control groups, and music intervention was provided to the experimental group three times a day for 30 minutes each from the first day of hospitalization. RESULTS: The first hypothesis, “The experimental group who received music intervention will experience a lower environmental stress level than the control group” was supported (Z=−3.212, p<.001). The second hypothesis, “The experimental group who received music intervention will experience a higher sleep quality than the control group” was also supported (t=3.715, p=.001). CONCLUSION: Findings show that music intervention is an effective nursing intervention to reduce environmental stress and improve sleep quality in liver transplant patients in the ICU.
Ear Protective Devices ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver ; Music Therapy ; Music ; Nursing

BACKGROUND: The understanding of the relationship between risk perception, knowledge, and protective behaviors could play a major role in occupational risk control and management. Research exploring how workers perceive, recognize, and react to risks in different occupational settings is scarce in Thailand. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of noise-related risk perceptions and knowledge to the use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) among sawmill workers in Thailand. METHODS: Sawmill workers (n = 540) from four factories in Trang, Southern Thailand, participated in a questionnaire interview from December 2015 to January 2016. Descriptive statistics and linear regression models were used to explore the risk factors related to HPD use. Path diagram analysis was demonstrated and used to evaluate associations. RESULTS: Risk perception was significantly correlated with HPD use (p < 0.01), HPD training (p = 0.01), and the number of years of work experience (p = 0.03). Sawmill workers were likely to use HPDs based on their risk perception and HPD training. However, HPD training was inversely correlated with age and the number of years of work experience. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the importance of risk perceptions and knowledge, and these factors should be emphasized in the design and implementation of any personal safety intervention program for sawmill workers.
Ear Protective Devices ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Risk Factors ; Rubber* ; Thailand ; Wood*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ability to localize a sound source is one of the binaural hearing benefits in a horizontal plane based on interaural time difference and interaural intensity difference. Unilateral or bilateral asymmetric hearing loss will affect binaural hearing and lead to sound locating errors. In this cross sectional analytical descriptive study, the localization error was investigated when participants turned their heads to the sound source with closed eyes and after simulating unilateral hearing loss by placing earplugs inside the right ear canal. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross sectional analytical descriptive study was carried out on 30 right-handed adults, 22 female and 8 male (average: 25 years, standard deviation: 3.16). They were selected with the available random access method. Horizontal localization was evaluated with five speakers located at 0, ±30, and ±60 degree azimuths at a 1-meter distance from the examinee. Narrow-band noise signals were delivered at 35 dB SL in two “without earplug” and “with earplug” situations and the results were compared. The study was performed between September and December 2016 in Tehran, Iran. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in localization errors between the “with earplug” and “without earplug” situations. The localization differences were greater for left-side speakers (-30 and -60 degrees) compared with right-side speakers (+30 and +60 degrees). The differences were more apparent at 4,000 and 6,000 Hz, which confirmed the effect of unilateral simulated hearing loss on interaural latency differences. CONCLUSIONS: Simulating hearing loss by using an earplug in one ear (right) increased localization errors at all frequencies. The errors increased at higher frequencies.
Adult ; Ear ; Ear Canal ; Ear Protective Devices ; Female ; Head ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Unilateral ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Methods ; Noise

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A rotation chair test has been used to evaluate the function of the horizontal semicircular canals. Currently, two chair systems according to the presence of cylindrical darkroom are used in a clinic setting. However, it has not been thoroughly investigated whether one system is superior to the other system or not. In this study, we aimed to compare test outcomes and subject convenience between two systems. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty subjects with no history of otologic disease were enrolled. Subjects were tested with two systems: system [A] with a cylindrical chamber and system [B] with no chamber. The results of sinusoidal harmonic acceleration (SHA), step velocity (SV), and visual fixation (VFX) tests were compared between the systems. Subject convenience was assessed with a questionnaire survey and results were compared between the systems. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in gain or asymmetry in SHA test between the systems. However, the phase of system [A] was significantly lower than that of system [B] at 0.16 Hz. There was no significant difference between the systems in directional preponderance (DP) gain or DP time constant. Regarding the VFX test, gain was higher in system [A] than system [B]. Subjects reported less stuffiness and less anxiety with system [B] than system [A], while preferring the system [A] goggles. CONCLUSIONS: A rotation chair system without a darkroom can provide a more comfortable experience for subjects in terms of stuffiness and anxiety, while showing comparable results in SHA and SV tests with a darkroom system.
Acceleration ; Anxiety ; Ear Diseases ; Eye Protective Devices ; Semicircular Canals

BACKGROUND: Labeled noise reduction (NR) data presented by manufacturers are considered one of the main challenging issues for occupational experts in employing hearing protection devices (HPDs). This study aimed to determine the actual NR data of typical HPDs using the objective fit testing method with a microphone in real ear (MIRE) method. METHODS: Five available commercially earmuff protectors were investigated in 30 workers exposed to reference noise source according to the standard method, ISO 11904-1. Personal attenuation rating (PAR) of the earmuffs was measured based on the MIRE method using a noise dosimeter (SVANTEK, model SV 102). RESULTS: The results showed that means of PAR of the earmuffs are from 49% to 86% of the nominal NR rating. The PAR values of earmuffs when a typical eyewear was worn differed statistically (p < 0.05). It is revealed that a typical safety eyewear can reduce the mean of the PAR value by approximately 2.5 dB. The results also showed that measurements based on the MIRE method resulted in low variability. The variability in NR values between individuals, within individuals, and within earmuffs was not the statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study could provide local individual fit data. Ergonomic aspects of the earmuffs and different levels of users experience and awareness can be considered the main factors affecting individual fitting compared with the laboratory condition for acquiring the labeled NR data. Based on the obtained fit testing results, the field application of MIRE can be employed for complementary studies in real workstations while workers perform their regular work duties.
Ear Protective Devices ; Ear* ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Methods ; Noise

BACKGROUND: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major preventable occupational health problem with 250 million people worldwide known to have disabling impairment of moderate to greater severity. The aims of the study are to estimate the prevalence of NIHL in the police force; and study its association with age, sex, duration of service (years), smoking and alcohol habits, use of hearing protective devices, as well as preexisting chronic diseases. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 543 police personnel who had undergone periodic medical examination over a 12-month period. The diagnostic criteria for NIHL were (1) history of occupational noise exposure, (2) bilateral hearing loss, (3) hearing loss of > or = 25 dBA at 4,000 Hz in two consecutive audiograms, and (4) no significant medical history affecting hearing. Severity of NIHL was based on the World Health Organization grading. RESULTS: Males (74.8%) made up the majority of the police force. The mean age for police personnel was 35.55 +/- 9.57 years, and the mean duration of service was 14.75 +/- 9.39 years. Compliance with the usage of hearing protective devices was seen in 64.4%. The prevalence of NIHL in this study population was 34.2%, with a higher prevalence in males (37.7%) than in females (23.9%). The study also showed strong associations between NIHL and male sex (odds ratio, 1.9; P < 0.05), and hypertension (odds ratio, 3.3; P < 0.001). Overall, 93% were found to have mild NIHL, 3.5% had moderate NIHL, and 3.5% had severe NIHL. No police personnel were found to have profound hearing loss. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of NIHL in this study is high compared to other similar studies among police personnel. This study shows that increasing age, male, presence of hypertension, diabetes, and longer duration of service are significant associated factors for NIHL. Preventative strategies include health surveillance, implementation of a hearing conservation program, and legislation.
Chronic Disease ; Compliance ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Ear Protective Devices ; Female ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Bilateral ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Noise, Occupational ; Occupational Health ; Police* ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of any outside acoustic stimulus with high prevalence. Multiple risk factors for tinnitus have been identified. So far, most of studies have concentrated on prevalence and associated chronic disease of tinnitus in adults. In the present study, we focused on tinnitus in adolescents which has not been adequately evaluated. The main goal of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of tinnitus in adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: This study was a retrospectively designed analysis of data from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2011-2012. We used tinnitus related interview data, the results of physical and audiological evaluation by ENT specialists, the results of daily intake of vitamin using a 24-hour dietary recall method, and blood samples in 1370 subjects. RESULTS: The prevalence of tinnitus was 22.2% in the age range of 12 and 19 years old. Logistic regression is a statistical method used to assess the association between tinnitus and independent variables. The following factors were independently and positively associated with tinnitus; sex (adjusted OR=1.531, CI=1.097-2.137), excessive earphone use (adjusted OR=1.422, CI=1.026-1.970), Non-occupational noise (adjusted OR=4.096, CI=1.702-9.859), explosive noise (adjusted OR=4.100, CI=1.703-9.872), niacin intake (adjusted OR=0.966, CI=0.940-0.993), vitamin (vit.). D serum concentration (adjusted OR=0.959, CI=0.925-0.994). CONCLUSION: This study showed an association between tinnitus prevalence in adolescents and gender, noise exposure, and vit. D supplement. Tinnitic patients are recommended to reduce excessive noise and use hearing protection devices such as earplugs or earmuffs; they are also recommended to obtain a supply vit. D from adequate sun exposure and outside activities.
Acoustics ; Adolescent* ; Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Ear Protective Devices ; Hearing ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Niacin ; Noise ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prevalence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Solar System ; Specialization ; Tinnitus* ; Vitamins