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[3] [4] Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been also attributed to noise exposure. [5] Although age-related health effects (presbycusis) occur naturally with age, [6] in many countries the cumulative impact of noise is sufficient to impair the hearing of a large fraction of the population over the course of a lifetime.
Occupational noise is the amount of acoustic energy received by an employee's auditory system when they are working in the industry. Occupational noise, or industrial noise, is often a term used in occupational safety and health, as sustained exposure can cause permanent hearing damage.
Occupational epidemiology is a subdiscipline of epidemiology that focuses on investigations of workers and the workplace. [1] [2] Occupational epidemiologic studies examine health outcomes among workers, and their potential association with conditions in the workplace including noise, chemicals, heat, or radiation, or work organization such as schedules.
Overall, audiometric records show that about 33% of working-age adults with a history of occupational noise exposure have evidence of noise-induced hearing damage, and 16% of noise-exposed workers have material hearing impairment. [9] In the service sector the prevalence of hearing loss was 17% compared to 16% for all industries combined. [10]
Occupational noise exposure is the main risk factor for work-related hearing loss. One study examined hearing test results obtained between 2000 and 2008 for workers ages 18–65 who had a higher occupational noise exposure than the average worker. [153] Of the sample taken, 18% of the workers had hearing loss.
Noise presents a fairly common workplace hazard: occupational hearing loss is the most common work-related injury in the United States, with 22 million workers exposed to hazardous noise levels at work and an estimated $242 million spent annually on worker's compensation for hearing loss disability. [18]
Woodruff, who has studied the effect of some chemicals found in plastics on human health, reproduction, and development for two decades, first started looking into microplastics in 2021.
The combined effects of styrene and noise exposure shows damages to all three rows instead, reinforcing previous results. [10] Also, the combined effects of these chemicals and the noise produce greater auditory fatigue than when an individual is exposed to one factor immediately followed by the next. [10]