Audiological profile of agricultural drivers exposed to noise and hydrocarbons

The study comprised analysis of the medical records of agricultural drivers with hearing complaints, from an agricultural company of Lençóis Paulista (SP), Brazil, within the Environmental Risk Prevention Program. The information analyzed included age, period of simultaneous exposure to noise and hydrocarbons and testing of reference pure tone audiometry. Survival models for grouped data (proportional risk and logistic) were adjusted to analyze the influence of age and period of exposure of hearing thresholds.

Results:

It was observed that the effects of age and period of simultaneous exposure to noise and hydrocarbons were significant for hearing loss in proportional risk and logistic models.

Conclusion:

It is fundamental to develop actions for the prevention of hearing loss in agricultural drivers exposed to the agents noise and hydrocarbons.

Keywords:
Noise; Hearing; Occupational exposure; Chemical compounds; Hidrocarbons

Degree of hearing loss	Mean ISO value
Normal	0 to 25 dBNA
Mild	26 to 40 dBNA
Moderate	41 to 60 dBNA
Severe	61 to 80 dBNA
Deep	≥ 81 dBNA

Hearing threshold (dB)	500 Hz	1000 Hz	2000 Hz	4000 Hz
0 to 15	10	16	15	9
15 to 20	4	4	5	4
20 to 25	4	3	2	5
25 to 45	3	2	3	7
Total number of individuals	25	25	25	25

Hearing threshold (dB)	500 Hz	1000 Hz	2000 Hz	4000 Hz
0 to 15	11	18	16	8
15 to 20	7	6	7	6
20 to 25	5	1	1	4
25 to 45	2	0	1	7
Total number of individuals	25	25	25	25

CV	DF	Proportional risk		Logistic
CV	DF	LRT	p-value	LRT	p-value
0 to 15	1	7.59	0.536	0.72	0.810
15 to 20	1	1.64	0.328	12.20	0.119
20 to 25	1	17.07	0.062	41.78	0.016^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
25 to 45	1	24.43	0.046^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	54.09	0.011^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
Age	1	0.12	0.576	0.33	0.576
Exposure	1	0.02	0.642	0.07	0.948
Age exposure	1	0.28	0.609	0.02	0.882

CV	GL	Proportional risk		Logistic
CV	GL	LRT	p-value	LRT	p-value
0 to 15	1	9.33	0.046^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	1.24	0.004^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
15 to 20	1	0.41	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	8.83	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
20 to 25	1	26.98	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	56.80	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
25 to 45	1	36.84	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	72.44	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
Age	1	5.78	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	6.36	<0.001^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test
Exposure	1	0.58	0.085	3.44	0.135
Age exposure	1	4.76	0.028^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test	4.26	0.043^* * Significant values (p<0.05) – Likelihood Ratio Test

Parameters	Right ear				Left ear
	Proportional risk			Logistic	Proportional risk			Logistic
	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE	Est.	SE
0 to 15	−0.297	0.481	0.204	0.852	0.995	0.498	2.620	0.903
15 to 20	0.442	0.451	1.311	0.840	1.752	0.491	3.780	0.938
20 to 25	0.894	0.449	2.07	0.857	2.470	0.513	5.186	1.014
25 to 45	0.894	0.448	2.180	0.856	2.530	0.515	5.427	1.023
Age	−0.007	0.013	−0.013	0.023	−0.050	0.014	−0.094	0.026
Exposure	−0.002	0.004	−0.005	0.007	−0.007	0.004	−0.013	0.008
Age exposure	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.0001	0.0002	0.0001	0.0004	0.0002

Academia Brasileira de Audiologia Rua Itapeva, 202, conjunto 61, CEP 01332-000, Tel.: (11) 3253-8711, Fax: (11) 3253-8473 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revista@audiologiabrasil.org.br

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[1] Correspondence address: Renata Fernandes. R. Raposo Tavares, 312, Jardim Ubirama, Lençóis Paulista (SP), CEP: 18683-510, Brazil. E-mail: renattafernandez@gmail.com