From the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio.
J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Aug 1;66(8):648-653. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003125. Epub 2024 Apr 25.
This study's objective was to estimate hearing loss prevalence for noise-exposed US Utilities workers.
In this cross-sectional study of a retrospective cohort, audiograms were examined for 1.3 million workers (13,595 within utilities) from 2010-2019. Hearing loss prevalence and adjusted risk as compared with a reference industry were estimated.
The hearing loss prevalence for noise-exposed Utilities workers (25%) was higher than for noise-exposed workers in all industries combined (20%). Some subsectors surpassed the prevalence for all industries combined and/or had adjusted risks significantly higher than the reference industry. The highest prevalence subsectors were Hydroelectric Power Generation (37%) and steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (29%).
While often overlooked, noise-exposed workers in this sector have among the highest prevalences of hearing loss and significantly higher risks. Increased attention and better hearing conservation strategies are needed.
本研究旨在估计接触噪声的美国公用事业工人的听力损失患病率。
在这项回顾性队列的横断面研究中，对 2010 年至 2019 年间的 130 万名工人（其中 13595 人在公用事业部门）的听力图进行了检查。与参考行业相比，估计了听力损失的患病率和调整后的风险。
接触噪声的公用事业工人（25%）的听力损失患病率高于所有行业接触噪声的工人（20%）。一些子部门的患病率超过了所有行业的总和，或调整后的风险明显高于参考行业。患病率最高的子部门是水力发电（37%）和蒸汽和空调供应（29%）。
尽管经常被忽视，但该部门接触噪声的工人的听力损失患病率最高，风险显著更高。需要更多的关注和更好的听力保护策略。
