Abstract
Occupational hearing loss received attention after the Industrial Revolution and through World Wars I and II. It currently accounts for the largest portion of occupational diseases, and a third of all hearing loss is due to noise. Occupational hearing losses include noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), hearing loss caused by ototoxic substances and hearing loss caused by their complex interactions. In the case of NIHL, even when exposed to the same noise, the degree of hearing damage and recovery may vary from person to person, and also be affected by other noise in daily life. Various organic solvents and some heavy metals exposed in workplace are important causes of ototoxic hearing loss, and they are known to have additive or synergistic effects when accompanied by noise. In Korea, NIHL is the most common occupational disease and has been increasing continuously since the 1990s. The number of claims for compensation has also been increasing steadily. However, the developed country including Korea almost never considered the effects of chemicals on the diagnosis and compensation for hearing loss workers. Occupational hearing loss can be prevented through hearing conservation programs. In this chapter, we will introduce the scientific basis of noise induced hearing loss, the impacts of ototoxic substance and co-existence impact on hearing loss.
Highlights
1.1 Noise-induced hearing lossOccupational noise exposure is very common around the world
It is estimated that the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) of K+ recycling gene and heat shock protein (HSP) gene in the inner ear is associated with the sensitivity of Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) [24, 25]
Exposure to noise in short duration or less intense noise may result in functional hearing loss without threshold change on audiogram
Summary
Up to 25% of workers are exposed to workplace noise above 85 dB(A) (weighted decibel relative to human ear) [1]. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common cause of hearing loss after age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and 16% of adult hearing loss is estimated to be caused by workplace noise [2]. One-third of workers exposed to noise showed audiometric evidence of NIHL, with 16% experiencing material hearing loss [3, 4]. Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline and depression, and accepted as a risk factor for dementia [5]. There was association between the severity of hearing loss and the risk of work-related injury requiring hospitalization [6]. Even in the workplace where hearing is less important, hearing loss is a major cause of stress-related sick leave [7]. The purpose of this review is to have a comprehensive overview of NIHL including pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and to understand the recently emerging topics on noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy
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