Occupational noise-induced hearing loss in Indian steel industry workers: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study focused on exploring the current level of hearing protection and subsequently determined the prevalence of occupational noise-induced hearing loss among casting and forging industry workers. BACKGROUND: The casting and forging industry provides employment to a significant portion of the population. METHOD: The level of hearing protection was assessed through questionnaire survey of 572 workers. Out of these workers, 165 and another control group of 57 participants were assessed by formal audiometry. Audiometric tests were conducted at frequencies of 1.0 KHz to 8.0 KHz.The occurrence of hearing loss was determined on the basis of a hearing threshold level with a low fence of 25 dB. Student's test and ANOVA were used to compare the various groups; a p value < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: More than 90% of the workers sampled showed significant hearing loss at medium and high frequencies. The analyses revealed a higher prevalence of significant hearing loss among the forging workers compared with the workers associated with the other activities. CONCLUSIONS: The workers of the Indian steel industry are highly exposed to occupational noise. The majority of workers are not protected from noise-induced hearing loss. There is a need to provide special ear protectors for workers engaged in forging. A complete hearing protection program, including training, audiometry, job rotation, and the use of hearing protection devices, needs to be introduced.