Fok Daniel, Shaw Lynn, Jennings Mary Beth, Cheesman Margaret
The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Work. 2009;32(4):365-76. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0849.
Demographic and legislative trends suggest that many older workers may remain at work past the traditional retirement age. This extended work trajectory poses new challenges and opportunities for workers with acquired hearing loss as they age. Workplaces require a new approach to enable transitions of older workers with hearing loss to remain safe and productive. A review of the literature on older workers, those with hearing loss, and strategies used to accommodate them suggests that individualized and piecemeal approaches are predominant. While universal design represents a fresh ideology that may help create more accessible and usable products and environments, its application to improve workplaces for older workers with hearing loss is limited. This paper proposes that occupational science be integrated with knowledge in hearing sciences, accessibility, and usability to assist with the transitions faced by older workers with hearing loss. A more comprehensive approach including the following three key components will be posited to examine the nexus of aging, hearing loss and work: (1) the use of an occupational perspective, along with concepts in hearing sciences to examine hearing demands and improve hearing access; (2) the use of contextual processes to promote physical and social change, and (3) the inclusion of Universal Design for Hearing (UDH) considerations as stakeholders develop more hearing friendly workplaces.
人口统计学和立法趋势表明，许多老年工人可能会在传统退休年龄之后继续工作。随着年龄的增长，这种延长的工作轨迹给患有后天性听力损失的工人带来了新的挑战和机遇。工作场所需要一种新方法，以使患有听力损失的老年工人顺利过渡，从而保持安全和高效。对有关老年工人、听力损失者以及用于帮助他们的策略的文献综述表明，个性化和零碎的方法占主导地位。虽然通用设计代表了一种新的理念，可能有助于创造更便于使用的产品和环境，但其在改善患有听力损失的老年工人工作场所方面的应用有限。本文提出，应将职业科学与听力科学、无障碍性和可用性方面的知识相结合，以帮助患有听力损失的老年工人应对过渡问题。将提出一种更全面的方法，包括以下三个关键组成部分，以研究衰老、听力损失和工作之间的关系：（1）运用职业视角以及听力科学中的概念来审视听力需求并改善听力无障碍环境；（2）运用情境过程促进身体和社会变革；（3）在利益相关者开发更有利于听力的工作场所时纳入听力通用设计（UDH）考量。
