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Prevalence of hearing loss in the United States by industry
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 07/20/2012
Masterson EA et al. – Workers in the Mining, Manufacturing, and Construction industries need better engineering controls for noise and stronger hearing conservation strategies. More hearing loss research is also needed within traditional “low–risk” industries like Real Estate.
Methods- The authors examined 2000–2008 audiograms for male and female workers ages 18–65, who had higher occupational noise exposures than the general population.
- Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for hearing loss were estimated and compared across industries.
- In sample, 18% of workers had hearing loss. When compared with the Couriers and Messengers industry sub-sector, workers employed in Mining, Wood Product Manufacturing, Construction of Buildings, and Real Estate and Rental and Leasing had higher risks for hearing loss.