Nadri Hamed, Khavanin Ali, Kim In-Ju, Akbari Mehdi, Nadri Farshad, Yeganeh Reza
Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Shoushtar Faculty of Medical Sciences, Shoushtar, Iran.
Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Jul-Sep;28(3):189-193. doi: 10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_312_23. Epub 2024 Sep 30.
Despite the understanding of the association between noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), the effects of noise on vestibular function are less well understood and neglected.
The aim of this study was to investigate the function of the vestibular system in workers with NIHL.
Thirty male textile workers with symmetrical NIHL (49.3 ± 4.5 dB at 4 kHz) and thirty healthy male textile office staff with normal hearing were included in this study. Pure tone audiometry using air conduction and bone conduction was used to determine hearing thresholds. The videonystagmography battery test, including the oculomotor test, caloric test, and video head impulse test (vHIT), was used for the evaluation of vestibular system function.
There was no difference in saccadic tracking, smooth pursuit tracking, and optokinetic nystagmus between the two groups. It was found that the abnormal vHIT was significantly higher in workers with NIHL (40%) than in the control group (3.3%). In addition, the abnormal caloric test was significantly higher in workers with NIHL (33.3%) than in the control group (0%). The association between the hearing thresholds of 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz and vestibular dysfunction was significant.
This study provides evidence of the simultaneous occurrence of NIHL and vestibular dysfunction. In other words, the results support the role of noise as a risk factor for the development of vestibular dysfunction in textile workers.
尽管人们已经了解噪声暴露与噪声性听力损失（NIHL）之间的关联，但噪声对前庭功能的影响却鲜为人知且被忽视。
本研究旨在调查患有噪声性听力损失的工人的前庭系统功能。
本研究纳入了30名患有对称性噪声性听力损失（4kHz时为49.3±4.5dB）的男性纺织工人以及30名听力正常的健康男性纺织办公室职员。使用气导和骨导纯音听力测定法来确定听力阈值。采用包括动眼神经测试、冷热试验和视频头脉冲试验（vHIT）在内的视频眼震图成套测试来评估前庭系统功能。
两组之间在扫视跟踪、平稳跟踪和视动性眼震方面没有差异。研究发现，患有噪声性听力损失的工人中异常视频头脉冲试验的比例（40%）显著高于对照组（3.3%）。此外，患有噪声性听力损失的工人中异常冷热试验的比例（33.3%）显著高于对照组（0%）。3、4、6和8kHz的听力阈值与前庭功能障碍之间的关联显著。
本研究为噪声性听力损失和前庭功能障碍同时发生提供了证据。换句话说，研究结果支持噪声作为纺织工人前庭功能障碍发展的危险因素的作用。
