Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2022 Jun;28(2):1227-1234. doi: 10.1080/10803548.2021.1880763. Epub 2021 Feb 27.
This study aimed to compare speech intelligibility in noise with and without hearing protection devices (HPDs). . Fifty-one workers were distributed into three groups: noise-induced hearing loss group (NIHLG), normally hearing noise-exposed group (NG) and normally hearing non-exposed to noise group (CG). A free field system was used to emit monosyllables (65, 70 and 75 dB) and pink noise in different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) (0, -5, -10 and -15). In situations with HPDs, all groups showed a decrease in the percentage of correct responses with an increase in noise level. The HPD had little effect on speech intelligibility in the NIHLG and NG. Considering the effect caused by the HPD on speech intelligibility, it was observed that the group with the greatest loss was the CG for SNRs of -5, -10 and -15. Although speech intelligibility is influenced by the hearing threshold, the noise level and SNR are crucial for good speech intelligibility, either with or without an HPD. It is highlighted that the NG had worse results when compared with the CG, which may indicate changes in the auditory pathway resulting from continuous noise exposure, even in the absence of changes in the audiometric thresholds.
本研究旨在比较使用和不使用听力保护装置 (HPD) 时的噪声下言语可懂度。 将 51 名工人分为三组：噪声性听力损失组 (NIHLG)、正常听力噪声暴露组 (NG) 和正常听力未暴露于噪声组 (CG)。 使用自由场系统发出单音节 (65、70 和 75dB) 和不同信噪比 (SNR) (0、-5、-10 和-15) 的粉红噪声。 在使用 HPD 的情况下，所有组的正确反应百分比均随噪声水平的增加而降低。HPD 对 NIHLG 和 NG 的言语可懂度影响不大。 考虑到 HPD 对言语可懂度的影响，观察到 SNR 为-5、-10 和-15 时，听力损失最大的组是 CG。 尽管言语可懂度受听力阈值的影响，但噪声水平和 SNR 对于良好的言语可懂度至关重要，无论是否使用 HPD。 需要强调的是，与 CG 相比，NG 的结果更差，这可能表明由于持续暴露于噪声而导致听觉通路发生变化，即使在听阈没有变化的情况下也是如此。
