Gourley Kristy, Chander Harish, Beam Asher Street, Knight Adam C
Neuromechanics Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA.
School of Health Related Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Apr 25;22(5):679. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22050679.
Sounds that cause disturbances and perturbations to the vestibular (inner ear organ responses) and visual (acute oculomotor responses) systems can impact postural stability. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of different types of sounds and noises on both static and dynamic PS.
A total of 20 participants (12 females and 8 males; age: 21.35 ± 1.79 years; height: 170.7 ± 9.3 cm; mass: 66.725 ± 14.1 kg) were tested using the limits of stability (LOS) test on the BTrackS™ balance plate and a Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, when exposed to four different sounds and occupational noises [construction noise (CN), white noise (WN), sirens (SRs), and nature sounds (NAs)] in a randomized order with a no sounds (NSs) control performed initially (intensity range of 70-80 dB). The center of pressure (COP) total sway area (cm) from the LOS and the time to completion of the TUG (seconds) were analyzed using a one-way repeated measures of analysis of variance at an alpha level of 0.05.
The observations demonstrated significant differences between the sounds and noises for the TUG ( < 0.001) but not for the LOS test ( = 0.406). Pairwise comparisons for the significant main effect for the TUG revealed that NSs demonstrated significantly slower time to completion compared to CN, WN, and SRs but not NAs.
The findings suggest that the different sounds and noises did not impact static PS during the LOS test, which involved the voluntary excursion of the COP while maintaining the same base of support (BOS). However, during dynamic PS with a changing BOS while walking in the TUG, exposure to CN, SRs, and WN demonstrated a faster completion time than NSs or NAs. This finding may be attributed to the anxiety induced by the noise immersion and perception of sounds, compared to calm NAs and no sounds. The findings can aid in better understanding the impact of different occupational noises on PS and emphasize the need for better noise protection and reduction in loud work environments.
对前庭（内耳器官反应）和视觉（急性动眼反应）系统造成干扰和扰动的声音会影响姿势稳定性。本研究的目的是评估不同类型的声音和噪声对静态和动态姿势稳定性的影响。
共有20名参与者（12名女性和8名男性；年龄：21.35±1.79岁；身高：170.7±9.3厘米；体重：66.725±14.1千克），在BTrackS™平衡板上使用稳定性极限（LOS）测试和定时起立行走（TUG）测试进行测试，测试时以随机顺序暴露于四种不同的声音和职业噪声[建筑噪声（CN）、白噪声（WN）、警报声（SRs）和自然声音（NAs）]，最初进行无声（NSs）对照测试（强度范围为70-80分贝）。使用单因素重复测量方差分析，在α水平为0.05的情况下，分析来自LOS测试的压力中心（COP）总摆动面积（厘米）和TUG完成时间（秒）。
观察结果表明，TUG测试中声音和噪声之间存在显著差异（<0.001），但LOS测试中没有显著差异（=0.406）。对TUG显著主效应的成对比较显示，与CN、WN和SRs相比，NSs的完成时间明显更慢，但与NAs相比没有显著差异。
研究结果表明，在LOS测试中，不同的声音和噪声不会影响静态姿势稳定性，该测试涉及在保持相同支撑面（BOS）的同时，压力中心的自主偏移。然而，在TUG测试中行走时，当支撑面发生变化的动态姿势稳定性测试中，暴露于CN、SRs和WN环境下的完成时间比NSs或NAs更快。这一发现可能归因于与平静的NAs和无声环境相比，噪声沉浸和声音感知所引发的焦虑。这些发现有助于更好地理解不同职业噪声对姿势稳定性的影响，并强调在嘈杂的工作环境中需要更好的噪声防护和降噪措施。
