Prevalence of Hearing Loss in the United States by Industry, 2000-2008

Background: Twenty-two million workers are exposed to hazardous noise in the United States. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss among U.S. industries.\n\nMethods: We examined 2000–2008 audiograms for male and female workers ages 18–65, who had higher occupational noise exposures than the general population. Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for hearing loss were estimated and compared across industries.\n\nResults: In our sample, 18% of workers had hearing loss. When compared with the Couriers and Messengers industry sub-sector, workers employed in Mining (PR = 1.65, CI = 1.57–1.73), Wood Product Manufacturing (PR = 1.65, CL = 1.61– 1.70), Construction of Buildings (PR = 1.59, CI = 1.51–1.68), and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (PR = 1.61, CL = 1.51–1.71) had higher risks for hearing loss.\n\nConclusions: Workers in the Mining, Manufacturing, and Construction industries need better engineering controls for noise and stronger hearing conservation strategies. More hearing loss research is also needed within traditional ‘‘low-risk’’ industries like Real Estate.

背景：美国共有2200万劳动者暴露于有害噪声环境中。本研究旨在估算美国各行业劳动者的听力损失患病率。

方法：本研究分析了2000至2008年的听力图（audiograms）数据，研究对象为18至65岁、职业噪声暴露水平高于普通人群的男女劳动者。研究估算了各行业的听力损失患病率及调整后患病率比（adjusted prevalence ratios，PR），并开展跨行业对比。

结果：本研究样本中，18%的劳动者存在听力损失。以快递与信使业子行业为参照组，采矿业（PR=1.65，置信区间CI=1.57~1.73）、木材制品制造业（PR=1.65，置信限CL=1.61~1.70）、房屋建筑业（PR=1.59，CI=1.51~1.68）以及房地产及租赁业（PR=1.61，CL=1.51~1.71）的劳动者听力损失风险更高。

结论：采矿业、制造业及建筑业的劳动者需要更完善的噪声工程控制措施与更严格的听力保护策略。此外，在房地产这类传统"low-risk"行业中，也需开展更多听力损失相关研究。