Survey of noise exposure and permanent hearing loss among Shadris spinning factory workers of Yazd using Task Base Method (TBM)

Background and aimsDuring last decades one of the hazardous agents on workers health has been workplaces noise. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of noise exposure in different jobs and noise induced permanent threshold shift in relation to noise level and work experience. MethodsThis is a cross-sectional and descriptive study that performed among total workers. Dosimetry was done for determination of accurate noise exposure level during an eight-hour s shift for each job group. Audiometry was performed in a standard acoustic room by the audiologist. The obtained data was analyzed by means of SPSS software. ResultsMean of age was 36.58 ± 6.76(19-52 years) and minimum, maximum and mean of work experience were 1, 18, 11.08 ± 5.47 respectively. Mean of hearing loss was 15.38 ±8.63 in right ear and 16.31 ±9.51 in left ear and total hearing loss was 14.72 ±8.33. A significant relationship was also identified between noise intensity and work experience with hearing loss (Pvalue?). ConclusionFindings of this study indicated that there is a high prevalence of noise pollution in different parts of workplace. Considering the obtained results, that shows positive effect of noise and work experience on hearing loss, the necessity of improvement of control and protection measures is of prime importance.