Maccà Isabella, Scapellato Maria Luisa, Carrieri Mariella, Maso Stefano, Trevisan Andrea, Bartolucci Giovanni Battista
University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy,
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2015 Feb;88(2):197-211. doi: 10.1007/s00420-014-0951-8. Epub 2014 Jun 13.
It has been suggested that high-frequency audiometry (HFA) could represent a useful preventive measure in exposed workers. The aim was to investigate the effects of age, ultrasound and noise on high-frequency hearing thresholds.
We tested 24 industrial ultrasound-exposed subjects, 113 industrial noise-exposed subjects and 148 non-exposed subjects. Each subject was tested with both conventional-frequency (0.125-8 kHz) and high-frequency (9-18 kHz) audiometry.
The hearing threshold at high frequency deteriorated as a function of age, especially in subjects more than 30 years old. The ultrasound-exposed subjects had significantly higher hearing thresholds than the non-exposed ones at the high frequencies, being greatest from 10 to 14 kHz. This hearing loss was already significantly evident in subjects with exposure <5 years and increased with years of exposure and advancing age. The noise exposure group had significantly higher hearing thresholds than the non-exposed group at the conventional frequencies 4 and 6 kHz and at the high frequency of 14 kHz. After stratification for age, there was a significant difference between the two groups at 9-10 and 14-15 kHz only for those under 30 years of age.
Multivariate analysis indicated that age was the primary predictor, and noise and ultrasound exposure the secondary predictors of hearing thresholds in the high-frequency range. The results suggest that HFA could be useful in the early diagnosis of noise-induced hearing loss in younger groups of workers (under 30 years of age).
有人提出高频听力测定法（HFA）可能是一种针对接触者的有用预防措施。目的是研究年龄、超声和噪声对高频听力阈值的影响。
我们测试了24名工业超声接触者、113名工业噪声接触者和148名非接触者。对每名受试者进行常规频率（0.125 - 8千赫）和高频（9 - 18千赫）听力测定。
高频听力阈值随年龄增长而恶化，尤其是30岁以上的受试者。超声接触者在高频时的听力阈值显著高于非接触者，在10至14千赫时最为明显。这种听力损失在接触时间<5年的受试者中就已明显，且随接触年限和年龄增长而增加。噪声接触组在常规频率4千赫和6千赫以及高频14千赫时的听力阈值显著高于非接触组。按年龄分层后，仅在30岁以下人群中，两组在9 - 10千赫和14 - 15千赫时有显著差异。
多变量分析表明，年龄是高频范围内听力阈值的主要预测因素，噪声和超声接触是次要预测因素。结果表明，HFA可能有助于早期诊断年轻工人组（30岁以下）的噪声性听力损失。
