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Noise and Vibrations in the Environment
Published in Gaetano Licitra, Giovanni d'Amore, Mauro Magnoni, Physical Agents in the Environment and Workplace, 2018
Jose Luis Cueto, Luca Fredianelli, Gaetano Licitra, Diego Palazzuoli
The following sections seek to introduce the reader to some key knowledge regarding environmental noise measurements. In this document, we focus on short-term noise measurements in industry and any outdoor noise activity, with the exception of transportation. Although this scope might seem narrow, the range of studies that it encompasses can be quite wide. We can find examples where noise measurement campaigns support the development of strategic noise maps (e.g. when measuring large industrial areas to define their noise power emissions). Another common example is the inspections that determine whether the level of exposure of some residents to a certain outdoor noise source complies with the limits established by national legislation. To complete this information, the following sections are accompanied by international standards that propose a systematic approach to the noise measurement, the outdoor propagation calculation and the uncertainty estimation.
Effect of vibration on the vestibular system in noisy and noise-free environments in heavy industry
Published in Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 2019
Pure tone audiometry was measured in all employees with an audiometry test at 250–8000Hz (AC 40, DK-500, Interacoustics, Middelfart, Denmark). Air conduction and bone conduction pure-tone threshold <25 dB HL at 250–8000 Hz were considered to have a normal hearing. Asymmetric hearing loss was defined as those with hearing loss of 15 dB or more at 3 adjacent frequencies between both ears. Recent studies have found that exposure to continuous noise can causes asymmetrical hearing loss [12]. In our study approximately all hearing measurements were symmetrical in participants with NIHL. The mean of personal noise measurement results and the mean of point noise measurement results was not predominance on right or left-sided in workers who were exposed to regularly exposed to high noise levels. Right and left ear were equally affected by the noise (Table 1). Two participants with asymmetric hearing loss were excluded from our study.
Noise-induced hearing loss: what South African mineworkers know
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2019
Amisha Kanji, Katijah Khoza-Shangase, Liepollo Ntlhakana
Enough evidence exists to demonstrate the link between excessive occupational noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Prolonged exposure to high noise levels over a period of time gradually causes permanent inner ear damage, referred to as NIHL. NIHL is defined as a sensorineural type of hearing loss that often begins in the higher frequency range (3000–6000 Hz) and gradually progresses with continued exposure to excessive sound levels [2]. Over and above the changes in hearing function, recent research also indicates a relationship between NIHL and tinnitus in this population [3]. For example, Edwards [4] found in her study that tinnitus was one of the associated auditory effects that gold miners presented; 57.8% of the participants younger than age 60 years had tinnitus and those with 21–30 years of experience had the highest incidence (20.8%). Such evidence highlights the importance of increased or sustained focus on and investment in hearing conservation programmes (HCPs) in mines to reduce and ultimately eliminate auditory health hazards due to occupational noise. Occupational noise is defined as any type of noise produced in the workplace which is 85 dB(A) and greater in intensity over an 8-h working shift for a 40-h/week time-weighted average (TWA) [5]. Noise measurement of ≥85 dB(A) TWA is used by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) noise regulation Standard No. 1910.95 [6] and has been adopted as a global benchmark by many countries, including South Africa, for occupational noise measurement [7].
Costs and effectiveness of hearing conservation programs at 14 US metal manufacturing facilities
Published in International Journal of Audiology, 2018
Stephanie K. Sayler, Peter M. Rabinowitz, Linda F. Cantley, Deron Galusha, Richard L. Neitzel
Up to 45 full-shift personal noise measurements on workers were made by our team utilising the OSHA AL standards during each site evaluation (85 dBA criterion level with 5 dB exchange rate). Measurements with a run time between 6–10 hours were corrected to an 8-hour TWA; measurements outside of this duration range were rare (<30% of all measurements), and were left as the average level over the actual runtime (LAVG), rather than normalised to a TWA. These measurements were compared to the ten-year noise measurement averages obtained for each facility from the company's comprehensive corporate noise database; these measurements were also collected using OSHA AL criteria and corrected to an 8-hour TWA. For facilities that had operated for fewer than ten years, all available yearly noise measurement averages were provided.