The effect of N-Acetylcysteine on the reduction of permanent noise-induced hearing loss in workers at Hepco Company

Noise-induced hearing loss is a noticeable clinical issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of N-Acetylcysteine on the reduction of permanent noise-induced hearing loss in workers at Hepco Company. In this clinical trial, in a one-month period from October to November, 118 male 22-52 year-old workers with at least 5 years of experience working in places with permanent high tone noise (more than 850db) were selected and divided to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received Fluimucil (NAC) and the control group received vitamin B1. Hearing ability of the two groups was evaluated through audiometry after the one-month period. In the control group, hearing loss was significant and it was in direct relationship with age and job experiment. The placebo (vitamin B1) did not have any significant effects on preventing hearing loss. In the experimental group, there was significant hearing loss in higher frequencies and at 6000, a relative improvement was observed, whereas with increases in age and job experience hearing loss became more significant which was rather low in comparison with the control group. The findings of this study shows that using N-Acetylcysteine has significant effects on NIHL (high tone loss) in higher frequencies. This study can be used as the basis for launching future studies on reducing the damages induced by noise.