Noise & Health
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Item Absence of hair cell protection by exogenous FGF-1 and FGF-2 delivered to guinea pig cochlea in vivo.(2001-04-12) Yamasoba,; Altschuler,; Raphael,; Miller,; Shoji,; Miller,Recent findings that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and transforming growth factor a can protect the auditory hair cells from acoustic trauma or aminoglycoside ototoxicity in vivo raise the question of whether other neurotrophic factors can also protect the hair cells in vivo. Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) can protect hair cells from neomycin ototoxicity in vitro, and in vivo study has shown upregulation of FGF receptor-3 in the cochlea following noise exposure, suggesting that some FGF family members might play a role in protection or repair of the cochlea from damage. We therefore examined if FGF-1 and FGF-2 chronically delivered to the cochlea prior to noise overstimulation can attenuate noise-induced hair cell damage in vivo under conditions in which GDNF and NT-3 were effective. Pigmented female guinea pigs underwent left scala tympani implantation of a microcannula attached to an osmotic pump filled with artificial perilymph only or containing FGFs (10 or 1 mg/ml FGF-1 or 10 mg/ml FGF-2). They were exposed to noise (4 kHz octave band, 115 dB SPL, 5 hr) 4 days after surgery. Threshold shifts 10 days postexposure were essentially equivalent at all frequencies tested across different treatment groups. No significant difference in threshold shifts was observed between the treated and untreated ears in any of the groups. The extent of hair cell damage was also comparable among the different treatment groups. These findings indicate that exogenous FGF-1 or FGF-2 does not influence noise-induced hair cell damage under the experimental conditions used in this study, suggesting that these FGFs are not good candidates as auditory hair cell protectors in vivo.Item Absence of otoacoustic emissions in subjects with normal audiometric thresholds implies exposure to noise.(1999-04-12) Desai,; Reed,; Cheyne,; Richards,; Prasher,Otoacoustic emissions and contra-lateral sound activated efferent suppression of emissions were examined to determine whether they provide any early indication of auditory damage from exposure to noise. Three groups were studied: noise exposed workers (n=50, mean age 42 years), patients with Meniere's disease (n=24, mean age 48 years) and normal subjects (n=24, mean age 41 years). All subjects underwent routine pure tone audiometry, tympanometry and otoacoustic emission testing. As a number of studies have shown that with hearing threshold better than 30 dB HL, emissions are almost always present and are generally absent with hearing loss greater than 30 dB HL, subjects in this study were sub grouped into these two categories in order to examine the incidence of emissions. Absence of emissions in subjects with mean hearing thresholds better than 30 dB HL varied from 0% in normal controls, 8% in patients with Meniere's disease and a significantly high 56% in noise exposed workers despite similar mean hearing thresholds for all groups. The mean transient emission levels for the noise exposed workers was significantly lower than the controls and Meniere's groups. This study clearly indicates that in the noise-exposed group there is sub clinical and sub audiometric damage to the outer hair cells responsible for generation of otoacoustic emissions. Of those with normal otoacoustic emissions, the efferent suppression was absent in 60% of noise exposed workers but in only 3.8% of control subjects implying that the efferent control may also be affected in a significant proportion despite normal hearing thresholds and emissions.Item Acute and chronic endocrine effects of noise: Review of the research conducted at the Institute for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene.(2000-04-12) Ising,; Braun,This is a review of the research into endocrine effects of noise since the early 1980s at the Institute for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene. According to our knowledge, no other group has studied systematically the endocrine effects of acute and chronic noise exposure. Mechanisms of acute noise-induced stress reactions as well as long-term increase of stress hormones in animal and persons under chronic noise exposure were studied. Our theoretical background was Henry's psychophysiological stress model with the two reaction alternatives : (i) The fight-flight reaction, characterised by an increase in adrenalin and noradrenaline (ii) The defeat reaction with increased cortisol. Extremely intense acute noise exposure near the threshold of pain caused an increased release of cortisol from the suprarenal cortex but acute noise exposure with levels between 90 and 100 dB(A) caused an increase of catecholamines. Non-habituated noise increased primarily the release of adrenalin from the suprarenal medulla, whereas habituated noise caused a chronic increase of noradrenaline from the sympathetic synapses under longterm noise exposure at work. Environmental noise exposure (Leq >/= 60 dB(A)) caused catecholamine increase if activities such as conversation, concentration, recreation etc were disturbed through noise. In sleeping persons, traffic noise with only Leq >/= 30 dB (A) and Lmax >/= 55 dB(A) caused significant acute increase of cortisol, which developed into chronic increase if the noise exposure was repeated consistently. Parallel to cortisol, chronic noradrenaline increase was also observed. Based upon the empirical results, a noise stress model was developed which is a first step forward in the theoretical understanding of endocrine noise effects.Item Age-related hearing loss and blood pressure.(2006-04-10) Rosenhall, Ulf; Sundh, ValterA review of the literature studying possible correlations between hearing function and cardiovascular disease (CVD) reveals a complex and somewhat contradictory picture. Most studies favor the concept of an association between hearing loss and CVD. The issue of interactions between noise-induced hearing loss and CVD, as well as between age-related hearing loss and CVD, has been discussed in numerous publications. The present study utilizes information from an epidemiological study of elderly people in Gothenburg, Sweden. We found a probable correlation between high systolic blood pressure and hearing loss in the low and mid frequencies in elderly women, 79 years old. A tendency of a similar correlation was also found in a group of 85-year-old women. An association between high diastolic blood pressure and low- and mid-frequency hearing loss was also found in the group of women aged 85 years. No consistent associations between blood pressure or hypertension and auditory function were found in 70- and 75-year-old women or in men 70 to 85 years old.Item Aircraft noise and times of day: possibilities of redistributing and influencing noise exposure.(2004-01-09) Hoeger, RDisturbing effects of aircraft noise depend on the time of day at which the sound sources emerge. The reason can be seen in different human activities which vary qualitatively throughout the day. Especially in the evening and during the night people are more sensitive against noise induced disturbances which is a result of several field studies. Additionally there exists empirical evidence that human performance behaviour profits by keeping the night period free of sound exposure. As a consequence of these findings it is discussed whether the existing air traffic should be rescheduled to the daytime. It is argued that not only noise rescheduling needs to be considered, but also the spatial redistribution of air traffic volume. In using a mix of rescheduling techniques and administrative possibilities, significant reductions of aircraft noise exposure can be achieved.Item Aircraft noise exposure from schiphol airport: a relation with complainants.(2003-01-23) Van Wiechen, Carla M A GItem Ambient noise strategy: a solution for noise control?(2003-01-13) Joseph, M; Bradburn, PThe British Government earlier this year undertook a consultation on its proposal, announced in the Rural White Paper, to develop an Ambient Noise Strategy in England. The proposals envisage a three phase approach: In phase 1 we would aim to establish three key sets of information: information on the ambient noise climate in the country--i.e. the number of people affected by different levels of noise, the source of that noise (road, rail, airports and industry) and the location of the people affected, by producing noise maps of the main sources of noise; methods which the Government might use to assess the effects of noise--particularly regarding people's quality of life and tranquility; the techniques available to take action to improve the situation where bad or preserve it where good. In phase 2 we would aim to evaluate and identify options for prioritising the various alternatives from phase 1 in terms not only of costs and benefits but also time-scales and synergies and conflicts with other Government priorities including economic and social issues. An optimal policy reduces noise at lowest net cost, whilst capturing as many synergistic benefits, and minimising any potentially adverse impacts. Decision makers need to ensure that the impacts of the noise policies do not cost society more than the benefits expected. A recent study undertaken by the Government, looked at how a cost-benefit type framework could be used, with noise maps, to help inform such decisions. Finally, in phase 3, the Government would need to agree on the necessary policies to move towards the desired outcome--i.e. the National Ambient Noise Strategy itself. The results of the consultation are expected to be published later this year.Item Annoyance and effects on work from environmental noise at school.(2000-04-12) Lundquist,; Holmberg,; Landström,The aim of this study is to investigate how students rate the annoyance and effects of noise in their working environment. 216 students, between the ages 13-15 years, and 12 teachers took part in this study. Sound level measurements were made for 20 minutes in the middle of a lesson for each class. On the measurement occasion the students were seated in a class room working on mathematics. Immediately after the sound level measurement, the students and the teachers filled in a questionnaire. The correlation between sound level and perceived annoyance and rated effect of noise on the students' schoolwork was poor. The correlation between the annoyance and rated effect of noise on the students' schoolwork was significant. Equivalent sound levels during mathematics lessons were 58-69 dB(A). Even though the sound levels were relatively high the students claimed that they were just moderately annoyed. More than 1/3 of the students claimed that the existing sound environment obstructed their work. No difference was found between boys and girls in rated annoyance and rated effect on their work. The younger students were more annoyed than the older ones. The participants claimed that chatter in the class room and scraping sounds from tables and chairs were the most annoying sound sources. The teachers shared this opinion. The concurrency between the students' rating of their annoyance and the teachers' rating of the students annoyance was remarkably low.Item Annoyance Caused by Exposure to Road Traffic Noise: An Update.(2002-04-08) Ouis,This paper addresses the negative effects resulting from the exposure to road traffic noise on people's well being with a focus on annoyance. Following the observations that noise exposures engender physiological reactions typical of stress, the non-auditory effects of noise on humans are generally viewed as being stress-related, and annoyance is one of the first and most direct reactions to environmental noise. In general terms, it is found that the continuous exposure of people to road traffic noise leads to suffering from various kinds of discomfort thus reducing appreciably the number of their well being elements. However drawing such a conclusion is hindered by difficulties when non-acoustical factors like sensitivity, socio-economic situation and age are also taken into account along with the usual acoustical factors of road traffic noise. The results of several decades of research on this topic have permitted lately to establish a quantitative relationship between the objective quantities characterising road traffic noise, namely the day to night noise level, and the human subjective reaction to it as expressed by the percentage of highly annoyed people. These findings are important at both the society and the individual level in as much as they may help in regulating in a more efficient way the planning of road traffic activity in order to secure minimum comfort to the affected population.Item An approach to the development of hearing standards for hearing-critical jobs.(2003-10-18) Laroche, C; Soli, S; Giguère, C; Lagacé, J; Vaillancourt, V; Fortin, MMany jobs at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) have several features in common: they are often performed in noisy environments and involve a number of auditory skills and abilities, such as speech communication, sound localization, and sound detection. If an individual lacks these skills and abilities, it may constitute a safety risk for this individual, as well as for fellow workers and the general public. A number of scientific models have been developed to predict performance on these auditory skills based on diagnostic measures of hearing such as pure-tone audiograms. While these models have significant scientific and research value, they are unable to provide accurate predictions of real life performance on auditory skills necessary to perform hearing-critical jobs. An alternative and more accurate approach has been developed in this research project. A direct measure of functional speech perception in noise (Hearing in Noise Test: HINT) has been identified and validated for use in screening applicants for hearing-critical jobs in DFO. This screening tool has adequate and well-defined psychometric properties (e.g. reliability, sensitivity, and validity) so that screening test results can be used to predict an individual's ability to perform critical auditory skills in noisy environments, with a known degree of prediction error. Important issues must be considered when setting screening criteria. First, the concept of hearing-critical tasks must be reviewed, since these tasks are often performed in high noise levels where normally-hearing people cannot hear adequately. Second, noise-induced hearing loss is frequent in these noisy environments, and workers who acquire a hearing loss might not continue to meet the minimal auditory screening criteria throughout their career. Other senses (e.g., vision, touch) also play an important role in these environments. Third, adaptation strategies have to be considered when recruits or incumbents fail the screening test.Item Arousals and aircraft noise - environmental disorders of sleep and health in terms of sleep medicine.(2004-01-09) Raschke, FWorld wide rules for sleep staging originate to 1967. Since then many investigations aimed to give numbers for the degree of sleep disturbances due to air traffic noise. But the variables used, such as the amount of relative sleep stages, total sleep time, or sleep efficiency, could not explain impairment in health and performance sufficiently. The beginning of the eighties has given new insight into the restorative functions of sleep, according to sleep fragmentation by micro-arousals. These are originating in autonomous dysfunctions during sleep, leading to non-restorative sleep. Environmentally related sleep disturbances are described, EEG and vegetative (micro)-arousals, and the actual knowledge in sleep medicine is given in terms of the international classification of sleep disorders (ICSD). The effects on health, and disturbed performance capacity during the day are shown by self ratings of 160 patients. Elevated metabolic rate caused by micro-arousal and/or insomnia, may play an additional role in health impairment.Item Assessment of the effectiveness of aircraft noise regulation.(1999-04-12) Fidell,A fundamental goal of aircraft noise regulation is control of the prevalence of noise-induced annoyance in airport communities. A common regulatory strategy is to identify values of long-term, time-weighted average aircraft noise exposure that may not be exceeded in the vicinity of airports without certain consequences. Noise exposure per se is neither the sole cause nor a perfect predictor of the annoyance of aircraft noise, however. Regulatory limitation of noise levels to certain values of favored noise metrics may therefore provide the appearance, rather than the substance, of a solution to problems of community reaction to aircraft noise. Response bias, as identified by Green and Fidell (1991), is a factor that exerts about as much influence on the observed prevalence of annoyance in communities as cumulative noise exposure. The importance of formal consideration of response bias in assessments of the adequacy of regulatory enforcement levels is addressed.Item Associations between noise sensitivity and sleep, subjectively evaluated sleep quality, annoyance, and performance after exposure to nocturnal traffic noise.(2007-01-14) Marks, A; Griefahn, BIn order to determine the influence of noise sensitivity on sleep, subjective sleep quality, annoyance, and performance after nocturnal exposure to traffic noise, 12 women and 12 men (age range, 19-28 years) were observed during four consecutive nights over a three weeks period. After a habituation night, the participants were exposed with weekly permuted changes to air, rail and road traffic noise. Of the four nights, one was a quiet night (32 dBA), while three were noisy nights with exposure to equivalent noise levels of 39, 44, and 50 dBA in a permuted order. The traffic noise caused alterations of most of the physiological parameters, subjective evaluation of sleep, annoyance, and performance. Correlations were found between noise sensitivity and subjective sleep quality in terms of worsened restoration, decreased calmness, difficulty to fall asleep, and body movements. The results suggest that alterations of subjective evaluation of sleep were determined by physical parameters of the noise but modified by individual factors like noise sensitivity.Item Attitudes of college music students towards noise in youth culture.(2009-01-07) Chesky, Kris; Pair, Marla; Lanford, Scott; Yoshimura, EriThe effectiveness of a hearing loss prevention program within a college may be dependent on attitudes among students majoring in music. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of music majors toward noise and to compare them to students not majoring in music. Participants ( N = 467) filled out a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward noise in youth culture and attitudes toward influencing their sound environment. Results showed that students majoring in music have a healthier attitude toward sound compared to students not majoring in music. Findings also showed that music majors are more aware and attentive to noise in general, likely to perceive sound that may be risky to hearing as something negative, and are more likely to carry out behaviors to decrease personal exposure to loud sounds. Due to these differences, music majors may be more likely than other students to respond to and benefit from a hearing loss prevention program.Item Audiological findings in individuals exposed to organic solvents: case studies.(2008-07-05) Gopal, Kamakshi VMillions of people around the world are exposed to industrial organic solvents such as toluene and xylene in the manufacturing sectors. Solvents are neurotoxic substances that are detrimental to the functioning of the nervous system, including the central auditory nervous system (CANS). This study investigated hearing and auditory processing in seven individuals with a history of exposure to industrial solvents. A battery of audiological tests was administered to all subjects: pure tone, speech, and impedance audiometry, otoacoustic emissions tests, auditory brainstem responses, middle latency responses, as well as the SCAN-A and R-SPIN tests with low predictability sentence lists. All individuals in this study exhibited findings consistent with retrocochlear and/or central abnormality. Two of the seven subjects in this study had normal pure tone thresholds at all frequencies bilaterally, yet showed abnormal retrocochlear/central results on one or more tests. The auditory test battery approach used in this study appears to be valuable in evaluating the pathological conditions of the CANS in solvent-exposed individuals.Item Audiological findings in workers exposed to styrene alone or in concert with noise.(2006-01-22) Johnson, Ann-Christin; Morata, Thais C; Lindblad, Ann-Cathrine; Nylén, Per R; Svensson, Eva B; Krieg, Edward; Aksentijevic, Aleksandar; Prasher, DeepakAudiological testing, interviews and exposure measurements were used to collect data on the health effects of styrene exposures in 313 workers from fiberglass and metal-product manufacturing plants and a mail terminal. The audiological test battery included pure-tone audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), psychoacoustic modulation transfer function, interrupted speech, speech recognition in noise and cortical response audiometry (CRA). Workers exposed to noise and styrene had significantly poorer pure-tone thresholds in the high-frequency range (3 to 8 kHz) than the controls, noise-exposed workers and those listed in a Swedish age-specific database. Even though abnormalities were noted on DPOAE and CRA testing, the interrupted speech and speech recognition in noise tests were the more sensitive tests for styrene effects. Further research is needed on the underlying mechanisms to understand the effects of styrene and on audiological test batteries to detect changes in populations exposed to solvents.Item Audiometric findings in petrochemical workers exposed to noise and chemical agents.(2005-10-05) De Barba, M C; Jurkiewicz, A L; Zeigelboim, B S; de Oliveira, L A; Belle, A PompermayerThis study investigated the occurrence of hearing loss among workers of a petrochemical industry during a period of five years. The records of environmental noise and solvents measurements and the results of annual audiometry performed by the company were examined. The audiometric results of workers from olefin operational areas 1 and 2 and aromatic plant areas exposed to solvents and noise and utility area workers exposed only to noise were analyzed for the standard threshold shift (STS). Despite the low exposures to solvents and a moderate exposure to noise, 45.3% of workers had hearing losses and 29.6% had STS.Item Auditory lifestyles and beliefs related to hearing loss among college students in the USA.(2008-01-14) Rawool, Vishakha W; Colligon-Wayne, Lynda AThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the auditory life styles and beliefs of college students with reference to exposure to loud sounds in the context of the health belief model. A survey was administered to 238 (40 men, 198 women) students in the USA. Results suggest that 44% of the students use noisy equipment without ear protection and 29% (69/238) of the students work in noisy environments. Of the 69 who worked in noisy surroundings, only ten reported wearing hearing protection devices although 50 (72.46%) reported tinnitus. The use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) was associated with previous experience with hearing loss and tinnitus. Although 75% of the students were aware that exposure to loud sounds could cause hearing loss, 50% of the students appeared to be exposing themselves to potentially harmful loud music. Furthermore, 46% of the students reported not using HPDs during loud musical activities because they felt that the music was difficult to hear with HPDs. Most students in this study considered hearing loss to be serious but 76% of the students believed that they would not lose their hearing until a greater age. Although 66% of the students had experienced tinnitus, 58% of these students reported not being concerned about it. These results suggest a critical need for promoting healthy hearing behavior among college students. Possible strategies could include improved education, experience with simulated hearing loss for extended periods and availability of cosmetically appealing or invisible HPDs with uniform attenuation across the frequency range.Item Auditory warnings in noisy environments.(2000-04-12) Edworthy,; Hellier,Auditory warnings are used throughout industry, transport, and the medical world. Despite the fact that auditory warnings frequently have to compete with intense and complex noise backgrounds, their use is widespread. This article reviews research and practice in the area of auditory warning design and implementation with particular emphasis on noisy environments. Auditory and visual modalities as warning senses are compared, and ergonomic methods of producing warnings which are acoustically tailored to their environments are reviewed. Developments in design approaches are reviewed with examples of both traditional types of warnings and digital, contemporary warning styles. Other issues such as false alarms and the minimisation of warning numbers are briefly considered.Item The benefit method: fitting hearing aids in noise.(2005-10-05) Svard, I; Spens, K E; Back, L; Ahlner, B H; Barrenas, M LThe most common complaint among individuals with hearing impairment is the inability to follow a conversation when several people are talking simultaneously, a noisy listening situation which is completely different from the quiet surrounding of the conventional pure tone audiometry used as basis for the hearing aid settings. The purpose of this report was to present important characteristics of the BeneFit Method (BFM), a procedure that fits the hearing aid under simulated conditions of competing speech and also a clinical pilot evaluation study comparing the BFM to the NAL-R recommendations and also to the Logic procedure, a GN resound proprietary fitting algorithm representing a modern digital hearing aid fitting procedure. Speech recognition scores in noise (SRSN) using monosyllabic words presented under different background noise levels were evaluated on 21 randomly selected subjects with hearing impairment. The subjects were fitted with the same type of hearing aid Danalogic 163D according to the BFM procedure as well as the logic procedure, the latter developed and recommended by the manufacturer. A comparison of the SRSN when using the subjects' current hearing aid fitted according to the NAL-R procedure was also made. Only the BFM procedure provided a significant SRSN improvement compared to the unaided condition (P< 0.01) in a signal/speech-noise level of 75/65 dB corresponding to a normal cocktail party condition. Moreover, patients performed significantly higher SRSN when fitted according to the BFM, than when fitted according the Logic or NAL-R procedures. The BFM procedure, which is based on individual and functional detection of hearing thresholds in noise levels corresponding to a cocktail party condition, can improve SRSN significantly. Hearing aids should be fitted under conditions similar to those when the hearing disability is perceived the most, i.e, in an environment with background noise.