Prevalence of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Ambulance Nurses.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of noiseinducedhearing loss of ambulance nurses and to assess working conditions related toloud noise levels in ambulances.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a cross sectional study studying50 nurses, aged between 20-60 years working in the emergency department atBangkok Hospital headquarters during October to November 2015 with the inclusionquestionnaire, an otoscopic study was done and then audiometric examination toassess to the level of hearing. A sound level meter was used to measure the noise levelin the cabin of the ambulance and to measure the noise exposure of the nurse a noisedosimeter was attached to the nurse in the ambulance. The survey was conductedduring 20 roundtrips in Bangkok and 20 roundtrips in other provinces.
RESULTS: The prevalence of noise induced hearing loss among 50 nurses was 6 %.
CONCLUSION: The results showed that the samples did experience noise-inducedhearing loss and are exposed to loud noise.
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