Johnson Tiffany A, Cooper Susan, Stamper Greta C, Chertoff Mark
Hearing and Speech Department, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS.
CavCom, Inc., Walker, MN.
J Am Acad Audiol. 2017 Jan;28(1):14-35. doi: 10.3766/jaaa.15070.
Exposure to both occupational and nonoccupational noise is recognized as a risk factor for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Although audiologists routinely inquire regarding history of noise exposure, there are limited tools available for quantifying this history or for identifying those individuals who are at highest risk for NIHL. Identifying those at highest risk would allow hearing conservation activities to be focused on those individuals.
To develop a detailed, task-based questionnaire for quantifying an individual's annual noise exposure (ANE) arising from both occupational and nonoccupational sources (aim 1) and to develop a short screening tool that could be used to identify individuals at high risk of NIHL (aim 2).
Review of relevant literature for questionnaire development followed by a cross-sectional descriptive and correlational investigation of the newly developed questionnaire and screening tool.
One hundred fourteen college freshmen completed the detailed questionnaire for estimating ANE (aim 1) and answered the potential screening questions (aim 2). An additional 59 adults participated in data collection where the accuracy of the screening tool was evaluated (aim 2).
In study aim 1, all participants completed the detailed questionnaire and the potential screening questions. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify participant participation in various noisy activities and their associated ANE estimates. In study aim 2, linear regression techniques were used to identify screening questions that could be used to predict a participant's estimated ANE. Clinical decision theory was then used to assess the accuracy with which the screening tool predicted high and low risk of NIHL in a new group of participants.
Responses on the detailed questionnaire indicated that our sample of college freshmen reported high rates of participation in a variety of occupational and nonoccupational activities associated with high sound levels. Although participation rates were high, ANE estimates were below highest-risk levels for many participants because the frequency of participation in these activities was low in many cases. These data illustrate how the Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ) could be used to provide detailed and specific information regarding an individual's exposure to noise. The results of aim 2 suggest that the screening tool, the 1-Minute Noise Screen, can be used to identify those participants with high- and low-risk noise exposure, allowing more in-depth assessment of noise exposure history to be targeted at those most at risk.
The NEQ can be used to estimate an individual's ANE and the 1-Minute Noise Screen can be used to identify those participants at highest risk of NIHL. These tools allow audiologists to focus hearing conservation efforts on those individuals who are most in need of those services.
职业性和非职业性噪声暴露均被视为噪声性听力损失（NIHL）的一个风险因素。尽管听力学家通常会询问噪声暴露史，但用于量化该病史或识别NIHL高危个体的工具有限。识别出高危个体将使听力保护活动能够集中于这些人身上。
开发一份详细的、基于任务的问卷，用于量化个体来自职业和非职业来源的年度噪声暴露（ANE）（目标1），并开发一种简短的筛查工具，可用于识别NIHL高危个体（目标2）。
回顾相关文献以制定问卷，随后对新开发的问卷和筛查工具进行横断面描述性和相关性调查。
114名大学新生完成了用于估计ANE的详细问卷（目标1），并回答了潜在的筛查问题（目标2）。另外59名成年人参与了数据收集，在此过程中评估了筛查工具的准确性（目标2）。
在研究目标1中，所有参与者都完成了详细问卷和潜在的筛查问题。描述性统计用于量化参与者参与各种嘈杂活动的情况及其相关的ANE估计值。在研究目标2中，使用线性回归技术来识别可用于预测参与者估计ANE的筛查问题。然后运用临床决策理论评估筛查工具在一组新参与者中预测NIHL高风险和低风险的准确性。
详细问卷的回答表明，我们的大学新生样本报告称参与各种与高声级相关的职业和非职业活动的比例很高。尽管参与率很高，但许多参与者的ANE估计值低于最高风险水平，因为在许多情况下参与这些活动的频率较低。这些数据说明了噪声暴露问卷（NEQ）如何能够用于提供有关个体噪声暴露的详细和具体信息。目标2的结果表明，筛查工具“1分钟噪声筛查”可用于识别那些具有高风险和低风险噪声暴露的参与者，从而使对噪声暴露史的更深入评估能够针对那些风险最高的人。
NEQ可用于估计个体的ANE，“1分钟噪声筛查”可用于识别NIHL风险最高的参与者。这些工具使听力学家能够将听力保护工作集中于那些最需要这些服务的个体。
