Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Noise Pollution and Control
Published in Subhash Verma, Varinder S. Kanwar, Siby John, Environmental Engineering, 2022
Subhash Verma, Varinder S. Kanwar, Siby John
Damage to the human ear can occur in several ways. First, very loud impulse noises can burst the eardrum, causing mostly temporary loss of hearing, although frequently torn eardrums heal poorly, resulting in permanent damage. The bones in the middle ear are not usually damaged by loud sounds, although they can be hurt by infections. Because our sense of balance depends very much on the middle ear, an infection in that area can be debilitating. Finally, the most significant and permanent damage can occur to the hair cells in the inner ear. Very loud sounds will stun these hair cells and cause them to cease functioning. Most of the time this is a temporary condition and time will heal the damage. Unfortunately, if the injury to the inner ear is prolonged, damage can be permanent. This damage cannot be repaired by an operation or corrected by hearing aids. It is this permanent damage to young people, inflicted by loud music, that is the most frequent and insidious. However, loud noise does more than cause permanent hearing damage.
Total Exposure Hearing Health Preservation
Published in Kirk A. Phillips, Dirk P. Yamamoto, LeeAnn Racz, Total Exposure Health, 2020
The relationship between high noise exposure and hearing loss has long been established (Mirza et al. 2018). It has also been shown in toxicological and epidemiological studies that impulse noise is associated with hearing loss, but at a different rate of loss than continuous noise (Suter 2017). The USDOD suggests several methods to estimate impulse noise risk via military acquisition standard 1474E (USDOD 2015). The instrumentation and the measurement standard for impulse noise risk are still in development. Researchers at NIOSH (Kardous and Willson 2004, Kardous et al. 2005) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Smalt et al. 2017) have been developing instruments for characterizing impulse noise. Others have been exploring hearing loss associations to impulse noise by such novel measurements as kurtosis (Fuente et al. 2018), or an interim A-weighted equivalent level (Zagadou et al. 2016), the equal energy of the impulse over 100 milliseconds of the peak (LIAeq100ms), Auditory Risk Units, or others (USDOD 2015).
Testing the Workplace Environment
Published in Samuel G. Charlton, Thomas G. O’Brien, Handbook of Human Factors Testing and Evaluation, 2019
There are two types of noise with which the human factors test specialist is concerned: steady state and impulse. Steady-state noise is a periodic or random variation in atmospheric pressure at audible frequencies; its duration exceeds 1 s, and it may be intermittent or continuous. Impulse noise is a short burst of acoustic energy consisting of either a single impulse or a series of impulses. The pressure-time history of a single impulse includes a rapid rise to a peak pressure, followed by somewhat slower decay of the pressure envelope to ambient pressure, both occurring within 1 s. A series of impulses may last longer than 1 s.
Assessment of transmissibility of hand-arm vibration, noise exposure, and shift in hearing threshold among handicraft operatives’: a cross-sectional study
Published in Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 2020
Ashish Kumar Singh, Makkhan Lal Meena, Himanshu Chaudhary, Sougata Karmakar
Occupational noise exposure has been recognized as a hazardous industrial pollutant causing significant hearing loss problems among the workers in Indian industries [11]. In the handicraft industry, noise exposure from hand-held non-powered and powered tools is rather common. The average noise exposure permitted is 90 dB(A) for the 8-h working day and shall not be exposed to noise level exceeding 115 dB(A) at any time [12,13]. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [14], the average noise exposure recommended is 85 dB(A) for the 8 h working day and shall not be exposed to continuous, varying, intermittent, or impulsive noise exceeding 140 dB(A) at any time. A number of studies have attempted to determine the real effects of hand-transmitted vibration and noise on the risk of loss of hearing threshold among the workers [9,15]. The number of industrial workers with hearing impairments is much high than ever before. The workers with sensory and mobility impairments face challenges with activities of daily living [16].
Exposure to impulse noise at an explosives company: a case study
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2018
Aleksandra Kulik, Jolanta Malinowska-Borowska
The issue is even more serious in the case of exposure to impulse noise [5]. The waveform of impulse noise includes one or many sounds with durations shorter than 1 s [6]. Impulse noise is associated with a sudden increase in sound pressure, which precludes activation of the protective mechanisms of the ear and may potentially lead to hearing loss [7]. Moreover, impulse noise generated in close proximity to residential areas may interfere with the rest, relaxation and sleep of their inhabitants and may stimulate anxiety-like reactions, which are reflected by irritation of exposed individuals [8]. In occupational environments, impulse noise is caused by detonations of blasting materials, collisions of objects or violent volume changes of technological gases in industrial technological processes [9,10]. To ensure protection of workers’ hearing from excessive noise at their workplace, occupational exposure limits (OELs) are established in noise legislation. The A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level (LAeq) for an 8-h working day should not exceed 85 dB, and the highest permissible limits of the maximum A-weighted sound pressure level (LAmax) and C-weighted peak sound pressure level (LCpeak) are equal to 115 and 135 dB, respectively [11]. Explosions, a source of impulse noise, may cause temporary or permanent threshold shift due to dysfunction of receptors, resulting from repeated exposure to acoustic stimulation [12,13]. Moreover, even a single exposure to intensive impulse noise may result in metabolic injury of the cochlea [14]. Impulse noise was shown to exert unfavorable effects not only on the well-being but also on the health status of the exposed persons. The systemic consequences of noise exposure include headache and vertigo, problems with concentration, emotional disorders and even cardiovascular disease (arterial hypertension, tachycardia), neurological issues (psychological syndromes) and gastrointestinal diseases. Also, hormonal disorders, mental problems, irritation and anxiety were postulated to result from exposure to noise. Other noise-induced symptoms include impairment of cognitive function, difficulty falling asleep, weakness, nervousness and problems with concentration and learning [15].