Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals
Abstract Background Hazardous noise exposure is an important health concern in many workplaces and is one of the most common work-related injuries in the United States. Dental professionals are frequently exposed to high levels of occupational noise in their daily work environment. This noise is gen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-024-00447-0 |
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| author | Celia Zhang Andrew Young Samantha Rodriguez Karen A. Schulze Bina Surti Fadi Najem Jiong Hu |
| author_facet | Celia Zhang Andrew Young Samantha Rodriguez Karen A. Schulze Bina Surti Fadi Najem Jiong Hu |
| author_sort | Celia Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Hazardous noise exposure is an important health concern in many workplaces and is one of the most common work-related injuries in the United States. Dental professionals are frequently exposed to high levels of occupational noise in their daily work environment. This noise is generated by various dental handpieces such as drills, suctions, and ultrasonic scalers. Prolonged exposure to such noise levels is known to have adverse effects on hearing health. Despite the prevalence of occupational noise in dentistry, there is a paucity of research specifically examining the prevalence of hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals. Methods To evaluate the prevalence of hearing loss and tinnitus, data were collected from 60 dental professionals, including participant demographics and audiometric thresholds. Thresholds were compared to the age- and sex-based reference ranges from the International Standards Organization (ISO 7029:2017). Results Results showed that 15–25% of males and 13–18% of females had hearing thresholds that exceeded 95th percentile limits based on the ISO normative age- and sex-distributions. Tinnitus was reported in 40% of the participants. Conclusion This study is the first to examine the characteristics and prevalence of auditory dysfunctions in dental professionals compared to the ISO normative age and sex distributions of hearing status. Findings from this study highlight the need for increasing the awareness of occupational noise hazards among dental professionals and the importance of routine audiological monitoring. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-848e400cdcd84151bca574e1ecc28ae7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1745-6673 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology |
| spelling | doaj-art-848e400cdcd84151bca574e1ecc28ae72025-01-05T12:50:30ZengBMCJournal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology1745-66732025-01-012011810.1186/s12995-024-00447-0Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionalsCelia Zhang0Andrew Young1Samantha Rodriguez2Karen A. Schulze3Bina Surti4Fadi Najem5Jiong Hu6School of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology, University of the PacificArthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the PacificSchool of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology, University of the PacificArthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the PacificArthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the PacificSchool of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology, University of the PacificSchool of Health Sciences, Department of Audiology, University of the PacificAbstract Background Hazardous noise exposure is an important health concern in many workplaces and is one of the most common work-related injuries in the United States. Dental professionals are frequently exposed to high levels of occupational noise in their daily work environment. This noise is generated by various dental handpieces such as drills, suctions, and ultrasonic scalers. Prolonged exposure to such noise levels is known to have adverse effects on hearing health. Despite the prevalence of occupational noise in dentistry, there is a paucity of research specifically examining the prevalence of hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals. Methods To evaluate the prevalence of hearing loss and tinnitus, data were collected from 60 dental professionals, including participant demographics and audiometric thresholds. Thresholds were compared to the age- and sex-based reference ranges from the International Standards Organization (ISO 7029:2017). Results Results showed that 15–25% of males and 13–18% of females had hearing thresholds that exceeded 95th percentile limits based on the ISO normative age- and sex-distributions. Tinnitus was reported in 40% of the participants. Conclusion This study is the first to examine the characteristics and prevalence of auditory dysfunctions in dental professionals compared to the ISO normative age and sex distributions of hearing status. Findings from this study highlight the need for increasing the awareness of occupational noise hazards among dental professionals and the importance of routine audiological monitoring.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-024-00447-0Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)TinnitusDental professionalsNoise exposureOccupational noise |
| spellingShingle | Celia Zhang Andrew Young Samantha Rodriguez Karen A. Schulze Bina Surti Fadi Najem Jiong Hu Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) Tinnitus Dental professionals Noise exposure Occupational noise |
| title | Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| title_full | Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| title_short | Impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| title_sort | impacts of hazardous noise levels on hearing loss and tinnitus in dental professionals |
| topic | Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) Tinnitus Dental professionals Noise exposure Occupational noise |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-024-00447-0 |
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