Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33402609›Full record

ArticleNoise & health

Hearing loss among military personnel in relation to occupational and leisure noise exposure and usage of personal protective equipment.

Hans Orru, Assar Luha, Mihkel Pindus, Rainer Jõgeva, Maie Vahisalu, Urve Lekk, Ene Indermitte, Eda Merisalu

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Noise & health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hans OrruInstitute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Assar LuhaInstitute of Technology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
Mihkel PindusInstitute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Rainer JõgevaEstonian Defence Forces, Võru, Estonia.
Maie VahisaluThe North Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia.
Urve LekkThe North Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia.
Ene IndermitteInstitute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Eda MerisaluInstitute of Technology, n University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
University of Tartu · EEEstonian University of Life Sciences · EE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextHearing loss (HL) is a major health concern among military personnel due to noise from shooting, blasts, military vehicles, and noisy training environments. Nevertheless, one's exposure can be partially reduced by using personal protective equipment (PPE). The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of HL among military personnel, to analyse associations between HL and self-reported occupational and leisure noise exposure, and use of PPEs. MATERIALS AND

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 military personnel during their routine medical examinations. First, all participants filled in a questionnaire about their exposure to noise and later the respondents went through an audiometric test. The diagnostic criteria for slight, moderate, and severe HL was HL of 25-40, 41-60, and >60 dB at 4 and 6 kHz, respectively. The associations between noise exposure and HL were studied with multinomial logistic regression analysis.

resultsThe prevalence of slight to severe HL in high frequencies (4 and 6 kHz) among study participants was 62.7%. Nevertheless, the majority of it was slight, as the prevalence of severe HL was 9.3%. The prevalence of any kind of HL was highest in the Navy and the prevalence of severe HL was highest in the Central Command Units. The relative risk ratios (RRRs) for HL were higher among those who had been working for a long time in a noisy environment, working with noise-producing equipment, driving in a PASI or a Bandvagn or had been shooting with blanks at least once per week. It also appeared that military personnel who had HL, reported tinnitus more often. Respondents' previous health problems, music-listening habits, and amount of exposure to loud noise in non-military environments were not independently associated with HL, but in several cases it increased the RRRs together with military exposure. We also found significantly more frequent HL among those never using PPEs.

conclusionHL loss was more prevalent among personnel who are more often exposed to military noise, especially among those who never use PPEs. The effect was enhanced by leisure time noise, but it was not independently associated to HL.

Indexed as

AdultAudiometryCross-Sectional StudiesEar Protective DevicesEnvironmental ExposureFemaleHearing Loss, Noise-InducedHumansLeisure ActivitiesMaleMiddle AgedMilitary PersonnelMusicNoise, OccupationalOccupational DiseasesOccupational ExposureActive serviceaudiometryhearing protectionnoise exposure

Identifiers

PMID33402609
PMCPMC8000139
OpenAlexW3113500546

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.