Alleyne B C, Dufresne R M, Kanji N, Reesal M R
Alberta Community and Occupational Health, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
J Occup Med. 1989 Feb;31(2):134-8.
Much has been written about the merits, needs, adequacy, and effectiveness of hearing conservation programs but very little about the cost of noise-induced hearing loss. Using claims for hearing loss submitted to a Canadian compensation board for a 5-years period (1979 to 1983), we estimated the current cost per claim to be $14,106. We observed an annual increase of 20.4% for noise-induced hearing loss claims and project that if 80% of the 450 claims submitted in 1987 are accepted, it will commit the Workers' Compensation Board in Alberta to a cost of $5,373,360--a considerable commitment for a disease that makes up only 0.3% of all claims. As a measure of morbidity we determined the years of potential hearing loss. The 207 workers between the ages of 18 and 70 years who were pensioned had a potential hearing loss value of 2529 years. Some authors have expressed the view that hearing loss is currently inadequately compensated and our review of the literature suggests that a fertile climate is emerging for increasing litigation. This tendency is likely to lead to further escalation of costs if prevention is not taken more seriously.
关于听力保护计划的优点、需求、充足性和有效性，已有大量著述，但关于噪声性听力损失的成本却很少提及。利用提交给加拿大一个赔偿委员会的、为期5年（1979年至1983年）的听力损失索赔数据，我们估计目前每项索赔的成本为14,106美元。我们观察到噪声性听力损失索赔每年增长20.4%，并预计如果1987年提交的450项索赔中有80%被接受，艾伯塔省工人赔偿委员会将承担5,373,360美元的成本——对于一种仅占所有索赔0.3%的疾病来说，这是一笔相当大的费用。作为发病率的一种衡量指标，我们确定了潜在听力损失的年数。207名年龄在18岁至70岁之间领取养老金的工人，其潜在听力损失值为2529年。一些作者认为目前听力损失的赔偿不足，而我们对文献的回顾表明，一个有利于增加诉讼的环境正在形成。如果不更认真地对待预防，这种趋势可能会导致成本进一步上升。
