Affiliations: HPAFU, University of Calcutta, Kolkata – 700009, India | [a] Public Health Analytics Unit, Department of Food and Nutrition, West Bengal State University, Kolkata – 700126, India
Abstract: With respect to population growth, there will inevitably be an increasing need for improvements in technology, which has led to greater energy efficiency, higher labour efficiency, continuous production methods and operating flexibility; in addition to these factors, mechanisation has also advanced rapidly. It has been also been reported that the introduction of louder machines with the process of industrialisation has made noise a major occupational and environmental hazard. Against this backdrop, a study has been conducted to assess the impact of occupational noise, if any, on the hearing status of human resources occupationally engaged in the industry. A total of 57 male volunteers, aged between 25 and 39 years, working at least for a period of 5 years, constituted the exposed group. A total of 36 individuals of comparable age working in administrative office constituted the control group. Hearing impairment was calculated at speech frequency, up to 4 kHz and up to 6 kHz. The degree of hearing impairment was also calculated. From the present study, it may be concluded that the hearing ability of the human resources, engaged in different sections of the industry, is significantly impaired compared to their age matched counterparts.
Keywords: Audiometric test, degree of hearing impairment, industry, speech frequency
