Journal of Audiology & Otology

The Korean Audiology Society (대한청각학회)
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Occupational Performance of Hearing-Impaired and Normal-Hearing Workers in Korea

  • Kim, Jinsook (Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Natural Sciences, Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Hallym University) ;
  • Shin, Yerim (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University) ;
  • Lee, Seungwan (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University) ;
  • Lee, Eunsung (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University) ;
  • Han, Woojae (Division of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Natural Sciences, Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Hallym University) ;
  • Lee, Jihyeon (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Graduate School, Hallym University)
  • Received : 2021.03.16
  • Accepted : 2021.05.17
  • Published : 2021.10.20
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Abstract

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the occupational performance of Korean workers with and without hearing loss and analyze the hearing-related difficulties in the working environment. Subjects and Methods: The Amsterdam checklist for hearing and work was used for the analyses and the occupational environments of the Korean workers were investigated. Out of 129 total participants, 86 workers experienced severe to profound hearing loss and 43 had the normal hearing ability. The hearing-impaired workers were recruited from two leading vocational centers and normal-hearing workers were their colleagues. Results: The hearing-impaired workers were found to take fewer sick leaves and exhibited higher rates of permanent job statuses compared to the normal-hearing workers. Workers with hearing loss rarely detected background sound; however, they could perceive reverberation more frequently. They felt more satisfied with their careers than the normal hearing workers as they received social support and needed to put their effort into hearing for most hearing activities. Furthermore, the effort in hearing increased with the increase in job demand, job control, social support, and career satisfaction. The working hours per week increased with the increase in age, education level, job demand, job control, and social support. Different trends were observed in 9 out of 12 variables while comparing the data from the present study with that obtained from the hearing-impaired workers of the Netherlands, indicating a large difference between countries. Conclusions: Although the hearing-impaired Korean workers operate diligently with good job positions, it is necessary to enhance their acoustic environment and provide them social support. Considering the cultural background of the hearing-impaired workers, the development of suitable vocational rehabilitation programs and specific questionnaires is strongly recommended worldwide.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors thank to Joong-O Yoon and Gaewon Shim for recruiting all the participants from two institutes, "Vocational Training Center for the Hearing Impaired" of the Korean Employment Agency for the Disabled and "Chungeum Rehabilitation Center," which concentrated on employment of hearing-impaired individuals. This work was supported by Hallym University Research Fund (HRF-201808-008).

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