# Presentation: 320905

## Issues Regarding Hearing Protection Device Use in Manufacturing and Mining 

** ****Thais C. Morata, Ph.D.**
**National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health**
_**tmorata@cdc.gov**_**  **** **

## Factors affecting the use of hearing protectors in a population of printing workers. Morata, Fiorini, Fischer, Krieg, Gozzoli, Colacioppo (2001) Noise and Health 4(13): 25-32.

**Study of 124 workers from a printing facility in São Paulo, Brazil:**
-  Interview on medical history, exposure history and use of HPDs (ear muffs)
-  Pure-Tone Audiometry
-  Individual noise measurements, including dosimetry

## Results

**Results**

## Noise Levels

| 
Noise TWA 
(in dBA) | 
N              (%) 
 |
| --- | --- |
|   80 | 20      (16.1%) |
| 81 to 85 | 30       (24.2%) |
| 86 to 90 | 52       (42.0%) |
| 91 to 93 | 22       (17.7%) |

**Noise Levels**

## Interview

| Reasons presented by workers for not consistently using HPDs in the presence of noise. | 
N | 
% |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cause headaches | 19 | 24 |
| Pressures head  | 29 | 37 |
| Cause itching | 34 | 43 |
| Interferes w/job performance | 36 | 46 |
| Interferes w/ communication | 55 | 70 |

**Interview**

## Slide 6

| Consistency of HP use |  p |
| --- | --- |
| Causes itching | 0.005 |
| Pressures head | 0.02 |
| Interferes w/job performance | 0.05 |
| Interferes w/ communication | 0.05 |
| Measured (actual) noise level | 0.23 |
| Perception of noise level | 0.33 |
| Self-reported hearing status  | 0.05 |
| Audiometric result (nl/HL) | 0.39 |

## Conclusions

-  Comfort issues
-  Interference with communication and job-related sounds/ *over*protection

## Factors affecting the use of hearing protectors (Morata et al., in preparation)

**Study of 44 workers and supervisors from the manufacturing and mining sectors in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh**** **
- Participants were interviewed or took part in focus groups discussions on hearing conservation topics, including problems with the use of HPDs.

## Results

- -“You hear the same old complaints, the same old stories.  You know, I can’t hear my equipment with my ear plugs and I can’t talk to my co-workers.”
- “It’s not comfortable”
-  “You can take them out and put them back in, I don’t like --That’s a hassle.”

## Results

-  Interference with communication
-  Interference with job performance
-  Comfort issues
-  Inability to detect warning signals when wearing HPDs

## The beliefs and attitudes towards the risk of hearing loss among Swedish workers (Svensson, Morata, Johnson, Nylen, Krieg, submitted) 

**Study of 313 workers from manufacturing companies in Sweden: **
- Survey on workers’ attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral intentions related to hearing-loss prevention [Stephenson and Merry, 1999; NIOSH contract no. 211-93-006].

## Atittudes regarding risk of hearing loss 

## Behavior and Self Efficacy

## Barriers towards the use of HPDs

## NIOSH, 1998

- “The best hearing protector is the one that the worker will wear”

## NIOSH Recommendations

**To promote a more effective use of HPDs:**
- Adequate attenuation
- Compatibility with other safety equipment and environmental factors
- Ease to insert correctly
- Comfort (have several alternatives easily available)

## Recommendations

**http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/accsh01_files/frame.htm**

**Noise-induced Hearing Loss in the Construction Industry **
**Carol Merry Stephenson, Ph.D.**** **

**Studies utilizing a health communication/ promotion approach indicate that education and training must address two concepts:**
**Remove barriers and promote self-efficacy**

## NIOSH Publications

- CRITERIA FOR A RECOMMENDED STANDARD
- Occupational Noise Exposure/ *Revised Criteria 1998*
- _http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/98-126.html_
- PREVENTING OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS
- -- A PRACTICAL GUIDE-- 1996
- _http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/96-110.html_