Influencing factors for hearing loss in workers exposed to noise in a cement plant

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and related influencing factors in workers exposed to noise in a cement plant. Methods: In October 2015, cluster sampling was used for questionnaire investigation and health examination of workers exposed to noise in a cement plant in Henan Province, China. The association of demographic features, living habits, cumulative noise exposure (CNE) , hypertension, and hyperlipidemia with NIHL was analyzed. Results: There was mainly medium-or high-frequency noise in the working place of this cement plant. The prevalence rate of NIHL was 18.4%, and male workers had a significantly higher prevalence rate than female workers (χ(2)=28.09, P<0.01) . The prevalence rate of NIHL increased with the increasing age (χ(2trend)=25.54, P<0.01) and decreasedwith the increasing degree of education (χ(2trend)=8.55, P<0.01) . The workers who smoked had a significantly higher prevalence rate of NIHL than those who did not smoke (χ(2)=14.15, P<0.01) , and the workers with a drinking habit had a significantly higher prevalence rate of NIHL than those without such habit (χ(2)=7.95, P<0.01) . The workers who did not wear earplugs had a significantly higher prevalence rate of NIHL than those who wore earplugs (χ(2)=19.93, P<0.01) . The prevalence rate of NIHL increased with the increasing CNE (χ(2trend)=57.81, P<0.01) . The workers with hyperlipidemiahad a significantly higher prevalence rate of NIHL than those without hyperlipidemia (χ(2)=12.43, P<0.01) . The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male sex (OR=5.06, 95%CI 1.68-15.26) , age ≥50 years (OR=1.91, 95%CI 1.12-3.27) , CNE 97.01-103 dB (A) ·year (OR=16.10, 95%CI 4.65-55.69) , CNE 103.01-118.37dB (A) ·year (OR=20.27, 95%CI 5.14-79.92) , and hyperlipidemia (OR=2.83, 95%CI 1.25-6.43) were risk factors for NIHL, while high school education (OR=0.22, 95%CI 0.09-0.56) , junior college diploma (OR=0.16, 95%CI 0.41-0.59) , and use of earplugs (OR=0.36, 95%CI 0.19~0.71) were protective factors against NIHL. Conclusion: The workers in a cement plant have a high prevalence rate of NIHL, and CNE, sex, age, degree of education, use of earplugs, and hyperlipidemia may be influencing factors for NIHL.