Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (한국산업보건학회지)

Korean Industrial Hygiene Association (한국산업보건학회)
권호 표지

Hearing Asymmetry among Occupationally Noise-exposed Workers

직업적으로 소음에 노출되는 근로자들에서 청력의 비대칭성

  • Kim, Wook-Tae (Graduate school, Inje University) ;
  • Kim, Dae-Hwan (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Chae-Kwan (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Ahn, Jin-Hong (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Chang-Hee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Kim, Hwi-Dong (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Kim, Jeong-Ho (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Son, Byung-Chul (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Jong-Tae (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine & Institute of Industrial Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University)
  • 김욱태 (인제대학교 대학원 의학과) ;
  • 김대환 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 이채관 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 안진홍 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 이창희 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 김휘동 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 김정호 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 손병철 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소) ;
  • 이종태 (인제대학교 부산백병원 산업의학과 & 산업의학연구소)
  • Received : 2007.03.06
  • Accepted : 2007.06.21
  • Published : 2007.06.30
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Abstract

Usually equal noise exposure is considered to cause symmetrical hearing loss, but some screening audiometries of employees who were exposed to noise showed asymmetry. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the distribution of asymmetrical hearing loss and the difference of air conduction level between left and right ear at the different frequencies (500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 6,000 Hz). Study subjects were 326 male employees who had participated in the noise-specific health examination from May to October, 2002. They were evaluated by otoscopic examination, pure tone audiometry and tympanometry. In all frequencies, hearing threshold level of left ear was worse than right ear. The mean interaural threshold differences between two ears were 0.83 dB at 500 Hz, 1.18 dB at 2,000 Hz, 2.29 dB at 3,000 Hz, 2.18 dB at 4,000 Hz, and statistically significant (p<0.05). The hearing loss of left ear was greater than right ear in occupationally noise-exposed workers. It is believed that left ear was more susceptible to noise damage than right ear

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Supported by : 인제대학교

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