Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study

Background: Workers in iron and steel factories in Tanzania are exposed to noise levels above recommended limit values, without using hearing protection devices. Exposure to noise levels above 85 dB(A) is associated with temporary threshold shifts (TTS) of human hearing. Nevertheless, there are few...

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Autores principales:	Israel P. Nyarubeli, Magne Bråtveit, Alexander Mtemi Tungu, Simon H. Mamuya, Bente E. Moen
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2021
Materias:	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fbefa8d29e4f45efa62a18f94b11cd35
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fbefa8d29e4f45efa62a18f94b11cd352021-12-02T16:51:34ZTemporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study2214-999610.5334/aogh.3193https://doaj.org/article/fbefa8d29e4f45efa62a18f94b11cd352021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3193https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: Workers in iron and steel factories in Tanzania are exposed to noise levels above recommended limit values, without using hearing protection devices. Exposure to noise levels above 85 dB(A) is associated with temporary threshold shifts (TTS) of human hearing. Nevertheless, there are few studies of noise and hearing from African countries. Objective: To determine whether the normal hearing workers in Tanzania experiences TTS after full-shift occupational noise exposure of 85 dB(A) and above. Methods: A total of 55 workers were included. Full-shift personal noise measurements were conducted. Pre- and post-shifts pure-tone audiometry were conducted for each worker. TTS was defined as a 10 dB or greater change at 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hz in either ear. Results: We found that 85.5% of the workers developed TTS across the work shift. There was significant increase in mean hearing thresholds across shift at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz among the workers exposed to an average personal noise exposure (LAeq,8h) of 90.4 dB(A) (SD = 2.7). The difference in mean hearing thresholds was higher at 4000 Hz [Arithmetic Mean (AM) = 10 dB SD = 4 dB] compared to that of 1000 Hz (AM = 4 dB SD = 3 dB), 2000 Hz (AM = 4 dB SD = 4 dB), and 3000 Hz (AM = 9 dB SD = 6 dB), respectively. Conclusions: Interventions to reduce occupational personal noise exposure are warranted to reduce the high risk of developing a permanent threshold shift with persistent high noise exposure. An intervention study is planned for this group of workers.Israel P. NyarubeliMagne BråtveitAlexander Mtemi TunguSimon H. MamuyaBente E. MoenUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 87, Iss 1 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Israel P. Nyarubeli Magne Bråtveit Alexander Mtemi Tungu Simon H. Mamuya Bente E. Moen Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
description	Background: Workers in iron and steel factories in Tanzania are exposed to noise levels above recommended limit values, without using hearing protection devices. Exposure to noise levels above 85 dB(A) is associated with temporary threshold shifts (TTS) of human hearing. Nevertheless, there are few studies of noise and hearing from African countries. Objective: To determine whether the normal hearing workers in Tanzania experiences TTS after full-shift occupational noise exposure of 85 dB(A) and above. Methods: A total of 55 workers were included. Full-shift personal noise measurements were conducted. Pre- and post-shifts pure-tone audiometry were conducted for each worker. TTS was defined as a 10 dB or greater change at 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hz in either ear. Results: We found that 85.5% of the workers developed TTS across the work shift. There was significant increase in mean hearing thresholds across shift at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz among the workers exposed to an average personal noise exposure (LAeq,8h) of 90.4 dB(A) (SD = 2.7). The difference in mean hearing thresholds was higher at 4000 Hz [Arithmetic Mean (AM) = 10 dB SD = 4 dB] compared to that of 1000 Hz (AM = 4 dB SD = 3 dB), 2000 Hz (AM = 4 dB SD = 4 dB), and 3000 Hz (AM = 9 dB SD = 6 dB), respectively. Conclusions: Interventions to reduce occupational personal noise exposure are warranted to reduce the high risk of developing a permanent threshold shift with persistent high noise exposure. An intervention study is planned for this group of workers.
format	article
author	Israel P. Nyarubeli Magne Bråtveit Alexander Mtemi Tungu Simon H. Mamuya Bente E. Moen
author_facet	Israel P. Nyarubeli Magne Bråtveit Alexander Mtemi Tungu Simon H. Mamuya Bente E. Moen
author_sort	Israel P. Nyarubeli
title	Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
title_short	Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
title_full	Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
title_fullStr	Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
title_full_unstemmed	Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study
title_sort	temporary threshold shifts among iron and steel factory workers in tanzania: a pre- interventional study
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fbefa8d29e4f45efa62a18f94b11cd35
work_keys_str_mv	AT israelpnyarubeli temporarythresholdshiftsamongironandsteelfactoryworkersintanzaniaapreinterventionalstudy AT magnebratveit temporarythresholdshiftsamongironandsteelfactoryworkersintanzaniaapreinterventionalstudy AT alexandermtemitungu temporarythresholdshiftsamongironandsteelfactoryworkersintanzaniaapreinterventionalstudy AT simonhmamuya temporarythresholdshiftsamongironandsteelfactoryworkersintanzaniaapreinterventionalstudy AT benteemoen temporarythresholdshiftsamongironandsteelfactoryworkersintanzaniaapreinterventionalstudy
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Temporary Threshold Shifts among Iron and Steel Factory Workers in Tanzania: A Pre- Interventional Study

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