Karaiskos Christos A, Rachiotis Georgios, Simou Effie, Dounias Georgios
Public Health Policy, University of West Attica, Athens, GRC.
Epidemiology and Occupational Hygiene, University of Thessaly, Larissa, GRC.
Cureus. 2025 Jul 9;17(7):e87575. doi: 10.7759/cureus.87575. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Occupational noise exposure is a leading cause of hearing impairment, which can affect both physical and psychological well-being. While most research focuses on advanced hearing loss, the impact of mild auditory deficits remains underexplored.
The study aims to investigate the relationship between varying degrees of hearing loss and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among industrial workers.
In this cross-sectional study, 345 full-time workers from three pharmaceutical factories in Attica, Greece, exposed to noise levels >85 dB, were categorized into three groups based on audiometric data: normal hearing (n = 195), mild hearing loss (n = 78), and evident hearing loss (n = 72). HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. Statistical analyses included the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation test (significance set at p < 0.05).
Compared to workers with normal hearing, those with mild hearing loss scored significantly lower across all SF-36 dimensions (e.g., physical functioning: 91.5 vs. 95.8, p < 0.001; mental health: 84.8 vs. 94.3, p < 0.001). Even with preserved speech-frequency hearing, the mild group exhibited reduced emotional and social functioning. No significant QoL differences were observed by gender or education, except for bodily pain (p = 0.004). Age correlated negatively with physical functioning only in the group with evident hearing loss (r = -0.27, p = 0.02).
Mild hearing loss can substantially impact the subjective QoL of workers, even in its early stages. Occupational health strategies should include psychosocial screening and counseling, as well as routine audiological monitoring.
职业性噪声暴露是听力损伤的主要原因，会影响身心健康。虽然大多数研究集中在重度听力损失上，但轻度听觉缺陷的影响仍未得到充分探索。
本研究旨在调查产业工人中不同程度听力损失与健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）之间的关系。
在这项横断面研究中，来自希腊阿提卡地区三家制药厂的345名全职工人，暴露于噪声水平>85分贝，根据听力测定数据分为三组：听力正常（n = 195）、轻度听力损失（n = 78）和明显听力损失（n = 72）。使用SF-36问卷评估健康相关生活质量。统计分析包括曼-惠特尼U检验和斯皮尔曼相关性检验（显著性设定为p < 0.05）。
与听力正常的工人相比，轻度听力损失的工人在所有SF-36维度上的得分均显著较低（例如，身体功能：91.5对95.8，p < 0.001；心理健康：84.8对94.3，p < 0.001）。即使言语频率听力保留，轻度组的情绪和社会功能也有所下降。除身体疼痛外（p = 0.004），未观察到性别或教育程度对生活质量有显著差异。仅在明显听力损失组中，年龄与身体功能呈负相关（r = -0.27，p = 0.02）。
轻度听力损失即使在早期阶段也会对工人的主观生活质量产生重大影响。职业健康策略应包括心理社会筛查和咨询，以及常规听力监测。
