การศึกษาการเกิดประสาทหูเสื่อมของผู้ปฏิบัติการในอากาศ กองทัพเรือ

Abstract

Presently hearing impairment is a common and important problem in the work. Which working condition assessment and working environment assessment among naval officers working in Royal Thai Naval Air Division found that exposed to noise levels during operation continuously.  Objective: To study prevalence of hearing loss at high frequency and to evaluate working environment. To study relationship between personal factors working environment and hearing loss at high frequency. To study odd ratio of hearing impairment. Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional survey research. The samples were 279 naval officers working in Royal Thai Naval Air Division at Sattahip Naval Base. The data were collected by measuring the noise levels at the workplace, demographic questionnaires, and audiometric tests. Results: The study found that 43% of naval officers tested positive for high-frequency hearing loss and the noise levels in the aircraft parking ramp before and after the flight range from 110dBA (maximum) to 85.4dBA (minimum). Personal factors such as age length of service time spent in the division the noise exposure (hours per day) work stations/posts classification of aircraft were related to hearing loss with a statistical significance (p < 0.05). The study also found naval officers aged 40 and up were associated with increased odds of hearing loss by 2.2 times (OR = 2.2; 95% confidence interval = 1.35-3.58) and those who spent over 20 years working in the division had a greater risk of hearing loss by 2.7 times (OR = 2.7; 95% confidence interval = 1.46-5.02). Furthermore the study revealed that crew members who operate on fixed-wing aircraft were at a greater risk of hearing loss by 1.04 (OR = 1.04; 95% confidence interval = 1.14-2.6). Conclusion: The most common naval officers 43% had hearing loss at high frequency. Cause of hearing impairment in risk naval officers can either be inherited from age group working period in air division the daily noise exposure hours working area and classification of aircraft. Therefore the environment on board should be monitored and controlled for safety knowledge of sound levels and use of ear protection devices should be increasingly enforced and audiometric testing continuously can be reduced the hearing impairment in naval officers working in Royal Thai Naval Air Division.