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Title: | Development and validation of a screening questionnaire for noise-induced hearing loss |
Authors: | Rosso, M. Agius, Raymond M. Calleja, Neville |
Keywords: | Industrial safety Deafness, Noise induced -- Research Occupational diseases Noise -- Physiological effect Audiometry |
Issue Date: | 2011 |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Citation: | Rosso, M., Agius, R., & Calleja, N. (2011). Development and validation of a screening questionnaire for noise-induced hearing loss. Occupational Medicine, 61(6), 416-421. |
Abstract: | Background: An audiometric health surveillance programme can be perceived to be a relatively costly exercise and employers, especially in developing countries, might therefore be reluctant to undertake this. A questionnaire might be a cheaper alternative. Aims: To develop a questionnaire to help determine the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in the vernacular (language) of a developing country and to validate it against an audiometric standard. Methods: A questionnaire was developed, translated and administered in a face-to-face interview. Otoscopic examination was followed by conventional pure-tone audiometry (at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz) for both ears of each respondent. The questionnaire responses were compared to the audiometric standard. Results: Two hundred and fifty workers from three companies (two printing and one woodworking) participated in this study. The sensitivity of the hearing loss questionnaire in detecting noise-induced hearing loss was 32%, while its specificity was 79%. There was an evidence to suggest good agreement (r 5 0.523) between the total number of years worked in noisy jobs and NIHL (P, 0.05). Conclusions: The questionnaire developed in this study was found to have an unacceptably low sensitivity for noise-induced hearing loss and therefore cannot be a valid substitute for audiometry. Pure tone industrial audiometry needs to be used more widely than currently in developing countries. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45909 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - ERCMedGen |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Development_and_validation_of_a_screening_questionnaire_for_noise-induced_hearing_loss_2011.pdf | 207.29 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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