THE STUDY OF CONSEQUENTS NOISE ON HEARING THRESHOLD FOR TWO CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE, GENERATOR WORKERS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL

Abstract

Abstract. In this study, noise levels issued by electrical generators were measured using a sound level meter device. The noise level of 11 generators was measured. The average noise level was about 101.6409091 decibels, which is greater than the noise level permitted for daily exposure. The study included two categories of people. Electric generator workers, numbering 55, and soldiers, numbering 36. All of them were brought in groups of 4 people weekly to the hearing unit at Al Karama Teaching Hospital. A hearing test was conducted to evaluate their level of hearing and determine the extent of the effect of noise on the hearing threshold, after they were examined by an ear, nose and throat consultant using an otoscope device. Seven generator workers were excluded from the study due to their infection with middle ear infection. Thus, the number of those who underwent the test was the hearing included 48 workers and 36 military personnel, and no military personnel were excluded because their selection was made in a non-random manner. After conducting statistics on the data, it was found that 44 workers and 36 soldiers were suffering from hearing loss in high frequencies (left ear). The latest findings of this study are that hearing loss caused by noise can develop many years before a person complains of hearing loss.