[Influencing factors for the use of earplugs in workers exposed to noise in a city].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of hearing loss and the use of earplugs in workers exposed to noise who have been provided earplugs in a city, as well as major influencing factors for the use of earplugs. METHODS: Cluster random sampling was used to conduct a questionnaire survey in workers exposed to noise who had been provided earplugs in 15 enterprises with noise exposure in a city from June to December, 2014. RESULTS: In the workers exposed to noise who had been provided earplugs, the rate of high-frequency anomaly in both ears was 57.8%, and the workers who kept wearing earplugs only accounted for 55.4%. The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that the protective factors for the use of earplugs included workers' own feeling of hearing condition (OR=1.704), comfort of earplugs (OR= 1.892), enterprise's inspection of the use of earplugs (OR=1.461), workers' knowledge of the function and usage of earplugs (OR=1.581), workers' understanding of the necessity of earplugs (OR=4.482), workers' initiative to search for related data (OR=4.029), the use of earplugs by colleagues (OR=5.071), and reminders from family members or friends (OR=2.678) (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The workers exposed to noise in this city have a high rate of abnormal hearing, and only half of the workers keep wearing earplugs during work. The use of earplugs is related to the factors including workers' own feeling of hearing condition, comfort of earplugs, workers' knowledge of protection, the enterprise' s management of hearing protection, and environmental support.