Morata Thais C., Little Mark B.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway/C27, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA., Email:
Noise Health. 2002;4(14):73-87.
The present document, which describes recommended standardized procedures, aims to assist individual investigators plan a study on the effects of industrial chemicals on the auditory system, collect and analyze environmental and hearing sensitivity data that are accurate and comparable to data acquired by others. This draft document is currently being reviewed by the NoiseChem Research Group. In this peer review stage we are currently accepting critiques and suggestions to this proposal. Investigations on the aforementioned topic are necessary since there is strong evidence that occupational hearing loss may be caused not only by noise but also by exposure to certain chemicals in the work environment. Since some industrial chemicals are known to be ototoxic, it is plausible to expect that if these chemicals occurred in high enough concentrations in the workplace they could affect hearing. Laboratory studies have yielded a finding not expected, namely that when simultaneous exposure to noise and chemicals occur, the hearing loss observed was greater than the expected hearing loss from noise added to the expected hearing loss from the chemical. If this synergism is verified in humans, then changes will be required in the limits that are set for occupational hazards in order to prevent occupational hearing loss.
本文件描述了推荐的标准化程序，旨在帮助个体研究人员规划一项关于工业化学品对听觉系统影响的研究，收集和分析准确且可与他人获取的数据相比较的环境及听力敏感度数据。本文件草案目前正由噪声化学研究小组进行审查。在这个同行评审阶段，我们目前接受对该提案的批评和建议。对上述主题进行调查是必要的，因为有充分证据表明职业性听力损失不仅可能由噪声引起，还可能由工作环境中接触某些化学物质所致。由于已知某些工业化学品具有耳毒性，因此可以合理预期，如果这些化学品在工作场所出现的浓度足够高，它们可能会影响听力。实验室研究得出了一个意想不到的发现，即当同时接触噪声和化学物质时，观察到的听力损失大于噪声预期听力损失与化学物质预期听力损失之和。如果这种协同作用在人类身上得到证实，那么为预防职业性听力损失而设定的职业危害限值将需要做出改变。
