Development and validation of a screening questionnaire for noise-induced hearing loss

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.