Coco Laura, Fried Marisa, Loria Obdulia, Vazquez Lluvia, Ekonomo Katherine, Sanchez Gabriela, Keeney Annie J, Beseler Cheryl L
School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States.
School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States.
Front Public Health. 2025 Mar 3;13:1502489. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1502489. eCollection 2025.
Farmworkers who have prolonged exposure to loud noise are at risk for disabling hearing loss. The objectives of this scoping review are to (1) identify and summarize the evidence on noise-induced hearing loss in farmworkers, (2) describe instruments used to evaluate hearing loss outcomes, (3) describe testing approaches and limitations, and (4) provide recommendations for future studies that seek to quantify hearing loss in this population.
We performed a systematic search of three electronic databases, PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus, to identify articles related to noise-related hearing loss in farmworkers. Our search was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
A total of 57 articles met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were undertaken in North America ( = 32, 56%), and most were in the midwestern United States. Farmworkers tended to be white, male, and work in crop agriculture. A total of 47 studies (82%) used audiometry to measure farmworkers' hearing sensitivity, among which testing was carried out at various locations, including hospitals, clinics, farmworkers' homes, and worksites. The criteria for defining hearing loss varied across studies making it difficult to summarize results. Among 14 studies that used a cutoff point greater than 25 decibels, the prevalence of hearing loss ranged between 46 and 98%. Subjective outcomes (used in 14 studies) were typically assessed using a variety of researcher-developed questions. The prevalence of hearing difficulties in this category was as high as 87%.
Hearing loss is prevalent across studies and does not appear to decrease over the years. Our findings call for more research among diverse farmworker populations. Further, given the high prevalence of hearing loss in many of the studies reviewed, there is clearly a need to develop strategies to protect farmworkers from noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss.
长期暴露于高强度噪音环境中的农场工人有患致残性听力损失的风险。本综述的目的是：（1）识别并总结有关农场工人噪声性听力损失的证据；（2）描述用于评估听力损失结果的工具；（3）描述测试方法及局限性；（4）为今后旨在量化该人群听力损失情况的研究提供建议。
我们对三个电子数据库（PubMed、CINAHL和Scopus）进行了系统检索，以识别与农场工人噪声性听力损失相关的文章。我们的检索以Arksey和O'Malley的方法框架以及PRISMA-ScR指南为指导。
共有57篇文章符合纳入标准。大多数研究在北美进行（n = 32，56%），且大部分在美国中西部。农场工人多为白人男性，从事作物种植农业。共有47项研究（82%）使用听力测定法来测量农场工人的听力敏感度，其中测试在不同地点进行，包括医院、诊所、农场工人的家中和工作场所。不同研究中定义听力损失的标准各不相同，这使得结果难以汇总。在14项使用大于25分贝临界值的研究中，听力损失患病率在46%至98%之间。主观结果（在14项研究中使用）通常使用研究人员自行设计的各种问题进行评估。此类听力困难的患病率高达87%。
听力损失在各项研究中普遍存在，且多年来似乎并未减少。我们的研究结果呼吁对更多样化的农场工人群体开展研究。此外，鉴于在许多纳入综述的研究中听力损失患病率较高，显然有必要制定策略来保护农场工人免受噪声暴露及噪声性听力损失的影响。
