Hearing loss associated with injury risk for workers: study

Quebec – Workers with noise-induced hearing loss may be at higher risk of injury in the workplace, according to a new Canadian study from the Institut National de Santé Publique.

The study involved 46,550 men who had frequently been exposed to occupational noise levels of 80 dBA or higher. Among the participants, 3.6 percent had at least one work-related injury requiring hospitalization within five years of an occupational hearing test. Each decibel of hearing loss found in the hearing test was associated with a statistically significant increase in injury risk, researchers found.

Being in an occupational setting with ambient noise levels of 100 dBA or higher also was associated with more likelihood of injury.

The study was published online March 17 in the journal Injury Prevention.