MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Noise and Health' source. Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:48:04 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456321&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122952%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bendokiene I, Grazuleviciene R, Dedele A Abstract Chronic noise exposure is associated with adverse pathophysiological effects, which may contribute to the progression of hypertension. However, evidence supporting its effect on women is still inconsistent. The aim of the study was to examine the hypertension risk related to road traffic noise in residential settings in an urban community amongst reproductive-aged women. Cross-sectional study data including 3,121 pregnant women, 20-45 years old, and a geographic information system (GIS) to assess the average road noise (LAeq 24 hr) for every subject at the current residential address were used. Effects on physician-diagnosed hypertension were estimated by logistic regression with adjustments for age, social status, marital ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456321 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456320&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122953%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Abel SM, Nakashima A, Saunders D Abstract Integrated hearing protection systems are designed to enhance free field and radio communications during military operations while protecting against the damaging effects of high-level noise exposure. A study was conducted to compare the effect of increasing the radio volume on the intelligibility of speech over the radios of two candidate systems, in-ear and muff-style, in 85-dBA speech babble noise presented free field. Twenty normal-hearing, English-fluent subjects, half male and half female, were tested in same gender pairs. Alternating as talker and listener, their task was to discriminate consonant-vowel-consonant syllables that contrasted either the initial or final consonant. Percent correct consonant discrimination increas... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456320 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456319&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122954%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wong HM, Mak CM, Xu YF Abstract This paper reports the results of a four-part questionnaire survey to assess the effects of the sound of dental equipment on people's perceptions and dental anxiety levels. The convenience sample for the survey comprised 230 dental students and 230 gender and age matched non-dental university students. The subjects were requested to complete the questionnaires themselves. The results show that the sound of dental equipment has a great influence on dental anxiety. Dental students, who are more familiar with the operation of this equipment, are less prone to anxiety when they hear its sound than their non-dental counterparts. PMID: 22122954 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456319 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456318&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122955%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lindblad AC, Rosenhall U, Olofsson A, Hagerman B Abstract In military outdoor shooting training, with safety measures enforced, the risk of a permanent, noise-induced hearing loss is very small. But urban warfare training performed indoors, with reflections from walls, might increase the risk. A question is whether antioxidants can reduce the negative effects of noise on human hearing as it does on research animals. Hearing tests were performed on a control group of 23 military officers before and after a shooting session in a bunker-like room. The experiments were repeated on another group of 11 officers with peroral adminstration of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), directly after the shooting. The measurements performed were tone thresholds; transient-evoked otoacoustic emission... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456318 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456317&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122956%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mehrparvar AH, Mirmohammadi SJ, Ghoreyshi A, Mollasadeghi A, Loukzadeh Z Abstract Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), an irreversible disorder, is a common problem in industrial settings. Early diagnosis of NIHL can help prevent the progression of hearing loss, especially in speech frequencies. For early diagnosis of NIHL, audiometry is performed routinely in conventional frequencies. We designed this study to compare the effect of noise on high-frequency audiometry (HFA) and conventional audiometry. In a historical cohort study, we compared hearing threshold and prevalence of hearing loss in conventional and high frequencies of audiometry among textile workers divided into two groups: With and without exposure to noise more than 85 dB. The highest hearing threshold was obs... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456317 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456316&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122957%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wid N S, Bohlin M, Johansson I Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible gender differences regarding psychometric scales measuring risk perception in noisy situations, attitudes towards loud music, perceived susceptibility to noise, and individual norms and ideals related to activities where loud music is played. In addition the purpose was to analyze whether these variables are associated with protective behavior such as the use of hearing protection. A questionnaire was administered to a Swedish sample including 543 adolescents aged 16 to 20. The result revealed significant gender differences for all the psychometric scales. In addition, all psychometric measures were associated with hearing protection use in musical settings. Contrary to pre... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456316 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456315&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122958%26dopt%3DAbstract This study aimed to evaluate the impact that this media coverage had on raising awareness about NIHL due to exposure to vuvuzela noise at soccer matches among South African soccer spectators. A descriptive survey study, using a 24-item, self-administered questionnaire was used for this study. One hundred and forty seven (147) soccer spectators were surveyed before (N1 =73) and after (N2 =74) the tournament. Systematic sampling strategy was used to select the participants. Participants completed the questionnaire before the start of matches. Sixteen percent of the participants surveyed reported having had some media exposure about NIHL due to exposure to vuvuzela noise during soccer matches before the tournament in comparison to 26% of the participants after the tournament. This increase in... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456315 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456314&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122959%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lindblad AC, Hagerman B, Rosenhall U Abstract The number of people with normal hearing thresholds seeking medical help for tinnitus and other hearing problems is increasing. For diagnostic purposes, existence/nonexistence of lesions or combinations of lesions in the inner ear not reflected in the audiogram was evaluated with advanced hearing tests applied to tinnitus patients with certain backgrounds, including noise exposure. For forty-six patients with pronounced tinnitus, and other symptoms, tentative diagnoses were established, including judgments of the influence of four causative factors: (1) acoustic trauma, (2) music, (3) suspected hereditary, and (4) nonauditory, for example, stress or muscular tension. They were analyzed with a test battery sensitive to lesions i... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456314 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456314 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456313&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122960%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Le Prell CG, Johnson AC, Lindblad AC, Skjönsberg A, Ulfendahl M, Guire K, Green GE, Campbell KC, Miller JM Abstract Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a significant clinical, social, and economic issue. The development of novel therapeutic agents to reduce NIHL will potentially benefit multiple very large noise-exposed populations. Oxidative stress has been identified as a significant contributor to noise-induced sensory cell death and NIHL, and several antioxidant strategies have now been suggested for potential translation to human subjects. One such strategy is a combination of beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and magnesium, which has shown promise for protection against NIHL in rodent models, and is being evaluated in a series of international human clinical trials ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456313 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456313 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456312&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122961%26dopt%3DAbstract This study measured the noise levels in the Portland Veteran's Affairs Medical Center's outpatient chemotherapy clinic. Average (LAeq) and peak (LCpeak) noise measures were recorded every minute from 7 am until 6 pm on the two busiest clinic days. Patients, visitors, and staff members filled out anonymous surveys regarding their reactions to noise levels. Cumulative noise levels were not at levels known to interact with Cisplatin for a significant period of time. Noise measurement analysis indicated that levels were at or above 70 dB SPL for less than ten minutes during the 11-hour recording window. The patient and visitor surveys indicated that both groups were unbothered by noise in the clinic. However, most staff members were bothered by or concerned about noise levels, and many felt th... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456312 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456311&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122962%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kapoor N, Mani KV, Shyam R, Sharma RK, Singh AP, Selvamurthy W Abstract The study explores the effect of occupational noise on oxidative stress status and prophylactic effect of Vitamin E and carbogen (5% CO 2 +95%O 2 ) breathing in alleviating the oxidative damage and conserving the hearing in human volunteers exposed to intense occupational noise. Plasma total antioxidant status, blood glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzyme activities of GSH peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.9, GPx), superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1; SOD) in erythrocytes, nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in plasma were assessed before and after 6 days of administration of Vitamin E and Carbogen. Results of the study indicate that the exposure to noise for 6 days increased blood concentra... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456311 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5456310&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22122963%26dopt%3DAbstract This study suggests an outdoor A-weighted reception limit of L den = 45 dB as a trade-off between the need for protection against noise annoyance and the feasibility of national targets for renewable energy. PMID: 22122963 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5456310 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5456310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280349&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959112%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rekha T, Unnikrishnan B, Mithra PP, Kumar N, Bukelo MJ, Ballala K Abstract Today's generation enjoys having music at their fingertips. This has led to an increase in the usage of personal listening devices (PLDs) over the past decade. There are significant concerns regarding harmful effects of PLD use. To find out the perception and practice of medical students regarding use of PLDs. Cross-sectional study was carried out in Mangalore, Coastal south India. Data were collected using a 31 item semi structured questionnaire that was distributed among 570 medical students, of which 485 completed questionnaire were received giving an overall response rate of 86.14%. The study was approved by the departmental review board. Statistical analysis used: data were analyzed using SPSS ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280349 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280348&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959113%26dopt%3DAbstract We report a cross-sectional study comparing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of individuals residing in the proximity of a wind farm to those residing in a demographically matched area sufficiently displaced from wind turbines. The study employed a nonequivalent comparison group posttest-only design. Self-administered questionnaires, which included the brief version of the World Health Organization quality of life scale, were delivered to residents in two adjacent areas in semirural New Zealand. Participants were also asked to identify annoying noises, indicate their degree of noise sensitivity, and rate amenity. Statistically significant differences were noted in some HRQOL domain scores, with residents living within 2 km of a turbine installation reporting lower overall quality... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280348 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280348 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280347&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959114%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: McCullagh MC, Raymond D, Kerr MJ, Lusk SL Abstract Noise represents one of the most common occupational health hazards. A Healthy People 2020 objective aims to reduce hearing loss in the noise-exposed public. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare perceived and measured hearing, and to determine the prevalence of hearing loss among a group of factory workers. Data collected as part of an intervention study promoting hearing protector use among workers at an automotive factory in the Midwest were used. Plant employees (n=2691) provided information regarding their perceived hearing ability, work role, and other demographics. The relationships among audiograms, a single-item measure of perceived hearing ability, and demographic data were explored using chi-squa... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280347 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280346&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959115%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, estimates of typical sound levels prevailing at the workplace environment and its effects on hearing ability of the exposed workers were made among cotton ginning workers. Data on self-reported health status was collected by a questionnaire survey at 10 cotton ginning industries located at Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state, India. The cotton ginning workers were exposed to continuous noise levels between 89 and 106 dBA. The hearing ability of the subjects was accessed by pure tone audiometry. The results of audiometry show mild, moderate and moderately severe degree of hearing impairment among the cotton ginning workers. The data generated during the study show that hearing loss was significantly associated with period of exposure to the workplace noise (P <0.0001). T... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280346 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280345&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959116%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rawool V, Dluhy C Abstract Several case reports suggest that some individuals are susceptible to hearing loss from opioids. A combination of noise and opium exposure is possible in either occupational setting such as military service or recreational settings. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, prescriptions for opiate-based drugs have skyrocketed in the past decade. Since both opium and noise independently can cause hearing loss, it is important to know the prevalence of hearing loss among individuals who are exposed to opium or both opium and noise. The purpose of this research was to evaluate auditory sensitivity in individuals with a history of opium abuse and/or occupational or nonoccupational noise exposure. Twenty-three men wh... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280345 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5280344&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21959117%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Smedje G, Lund N M, Gärtner L, Lundgren H, Lindgren T Abstract The aim was to study subjective and objective hearing loss in a population of aircraft maintenance workers and identify predictors. A total of 327 aircraft maintenance personnel answered a self-administered work environment questionnaire (response rate 76%) and underwent audiometric test. The mean values for the hearing threshold at 3, 4, and 6 kHz for the ear with the most hearing loss were compared with a Swedish population database of persons not occupationally exposed to noise. Equivalent noise exposure during a working day was measured. Relationships between subjective and objective hearing loss and possible predictors (age, years of employment, self-reported exposure to solvents, blood pressure, and psyc... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5280344 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5280344 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057190&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768729%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kotowski MR, Smith SW, Johnstone PM, Pritt E Brochures containing messages developed according to the Extended Parallel Process Model were deployed to increase intentions to use hearing protection for college students. These brochures were presented to one-half of a college student sample, after which a questionnaire was administered to assess perceptions of threat, efficacy, and behavioral intentions. The other half of the sample completed the questionnaire and then received brochures. Results indicated that people receiving the brochure before the questionnaire reported greater perceptions of hearing loss threat and efficacy to use ear plugs when in loud environments, however, intentions to use ear plugs were unchanged. Distribution of the brochure also resulted in greater p... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057190 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057189&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768730%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Agarwal S, Swami BL The present study is aimed to investigate the impact of noise pollution on residents/community residing near roadside. The degree of annoyance was assessed by means of a questionnaire. It was found that among all noise-generating sources, road traffic was the major source of noise followed by factory/machines. A health survey reported about 52% of population was suffering by frequent irritation. 46% respondent felt hypertension, and 48.6% observed loss of sleep due to noise pollution. Common noise descriptors were also recorded at all the selected sites. It was found that the Leq values were higher (range 73-86) compared to the permissible values (65 dBA) prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi. Further, regression equations were develo... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057189 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057188&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768731%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ekström SR, Borg E The masking effect of a piano composition, played at different speeds and in different octaves, on speech-perception thresholds was investigated in 15 normal-hearing and 14 moderately-hearing-impaired subjects. Running speech (just follow conversation, JFC) testing and use of hearing aids increased the everyday validity of the findings. A comparison was made with standard audiometric noises [International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) noise and speech spectrum-filtered noise (SPN)]. All masking sounds, music or noise, were presented at the same equivalent sound level (50 dBA). The results showed a significant effect of piano performance speed and octave (P<.01). Low octave and fast tempo had the largest effect; and high octave and slow tem... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057188 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057188 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057187&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768732%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jáuregui-Huerta F, Garcia-Estrada J, Ruvalcaba-Delgadillo Y, Trujillo X, Huerta M, Feria-Velasco A, Gonzalez-Perez O, Luquin S Increasing evidence indicates that chronic exposure to environmental noise may permanently affect the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of early exposure to environmental noise on the hippocampal cell proliferation of the adult male rat. Early-weaned Wistar rats were exposed for 15 days to a rats' audiogram-fitted adaptation to a noisy environment. Two months later, the rats were injected with the cellular proliferation marker 5΄bromodeoxiuridine (BrdU), and their brains were processed for immunohistochemical analysis. Coronal sections were immunolabeled with anti-BrdU antibodies to identify new-born ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057187 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057186&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768733%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bielefeld EC, Wantuck R, Henderson D Both the antioxidant, N-l-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and the Src inhibitor, KX1-004, have been used to protect the cochlea from hazardous noise. In order to extend our previous work on KX1-004 with noise exposure, the current studies were undertaken with two goals: (1) to test the effectiveness of NAC and KX1-004 in combination with one another when given in a protection paradigm, and (2) to test the NAC+KX1-004 combination in a postexposure rescue paradigm. The noise exposure for the first experiment consisted of a 4-kHz octave band of noise at 107 dB SPL for 2 hours. The combination of NAC and KX1-004 were administered either prior to the noise exposure or post exposure (rescue). The second experiment was undertaken to extend the findings of ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057186 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057185&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768734%26dopt%3DAbstract This article reviews the literature about the effects of specific non-traffic-related ambient noise sources on sleep that appeared in the last two decades. Although everybody is faced with noise of non-traffic and non-industry origin (e.g. sounds made by neighbors, talk, laughter, music, slamming doors, structural equipment, ventilation, heat pumps, noise from animals, barking dogs, outdoor events etc.), little scientific knowledge exists about its effects on sleep. The findings of the present extensive literature search and review are as follows: Only a small number of surveys, laboratory and field studies about mainly neighborhood, leisure and animal noise have been carried out. Most of them indicate that ambient noise has some effect on human sleep. However, a quantitative meta-analysis... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057185 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057184&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768735%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bohlin MC, Sorbring E, Wid N SE, Erlandsson SI Music and high levels of sound have not traditionally been associated with risk-taking behaviors. Loud music may intensify and bring more power and meaning to the musical experience, but it can at the same time be harmful to hearing. The present study aims to increase the knowledge about young women's and men's risk judgement and behaviour by investigating patterns in adolescent risk activities among 310 adolescents aged 15-20 (143 women; 167 men). The Australian instrument ARQ was used with additional questions on hearing risks and a factor analysis was conducted. The main results showed that the factor structure in the judgement and behavior scale for Swedish adolescents was rather different from the factor structure in the Aust... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057184 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057183&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21768736%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Muhr P, Rosenhall U The influence of military service on self-assessed hearing symptoms and measured auditory function was studied as well as the efficacy of the Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) of the Swedish Armed Forces. 839 conscripts were recruited for the study at reporting to military service. They were all exposed to noise over the risk-limits from weapons and vehicles and used earmuffs and/or earplugs. Questionnaires and pure tone screening audiometry were studied at the start and the end of the military service. Retrospective information regarding audiometry at conscription before military service was included as control. The prevalence values of tinnitus were 23% before and 32% after the service and of sensitivity to noise 16% and 19% respectively. The prevalence ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057183 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5057183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811913&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537102%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Babisch W PMID: 21537102 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811913 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811912&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537103%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Maschke C Research on systematic noise effects started in Germany back in the fifties with basic experimental studies on humans. As a result, noise was classified as a non-specific stressor, which could cause an ergotropic activation of the complete organism. In the light of this background research a hypothesis was proposed that long-term noise exposure could have an adverse effect on health. This hypothesis was further supported by animal studies. Since the sixties, the adverse effects of chronic road traffic noise exposure were further examined in humans with the help of epidemiological studies. More epidemiological aircraft noise studies followed in the 1970s and thereafter. The sample size was increased, relevant confounding factors were taken into account, and the exposu... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811912 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811911&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537104%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bluhm G, Eriksson C In Sweden, as in many other European countries, traffic noise is an important environmental health issue. At present, almost two million people are exposed to average noise levels exceeding the outdoor national guideline value (55 dB(A)). Despite efforts to reduce the noise burden, noise-related health effects, such as annoyance and sleep disturbances, are increasing. The scientific interest regarding more serious health effects related to the cardiovascular system is growing, and several experimental and epidemiological studies have been performed or are ongoing. Most of the studies on cardiovascular outcomes have been related to noise from road or aircraft traffic. Few studies have included railway noise. The outcomes under study include morning saliva co... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811911 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811910&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537105%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Belojevic G, Paunovic K, Jakovljevic B, Stojanov V, Ilic J, Slepcevic V, Saric-Tanaskovic M Research on the cardiovascular effects of noise in Serbia started in the year 2002, including experimental studies on humans and epidemiological studies on the adult and children population of Belgrade and Pancevo. Experimental exposure to noise [L eq = 89 dB (A)] had a hypodynamic effect, significantly lowering the cardiac index, cardiac work, and pump performance (P < 0.01). The vasoconstrictive effect of noise was shown through the significant elevation of after-load (P < 0.01). In a cross-sectional population study that was carried out on 2874 residents [1243 males and 1631 females] in Pancevo City, a significant odds ratio (adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811910 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811909&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537106%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kempen E The impact of environmental noise on public health, in The Netherlands, is limited: Less than 1% of the myocardial infarction cases per year are attributable to long-term exposure to road traffic noise. Furthermore, although the Dutch noise policy is not directed to prevent cardiovascular disease due to noise exposure, health does play a role in Dutch noise policy. These are the main conclusions of a systematic review of Dutch observational studies, investigating the possible impact of road traffic and aircraft noise exposure on the cardiovascular system. Since 1970, 14 Dutch studies were published investigating the possible impact of road traffic and aircraft noise exposure on the cardiovascular system. Within these studies a large variety of outcomes were investigat... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811909 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811908&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537107%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stansfeld S, Crombie R Although the auditory effects of noise on humans have been established, the non-auditory effects are not so well established. The emerging links between noise and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have potentially important implications on public health and policy. In the United Kingdom (UK), noise from transport is a problem, where more than half of the population is exposed to more than the recommended maximum day-time noise level and just under three-quarters of the population live in areas where the recommended night-time noise level is exceeded. This review focuses on findings from studies conducted in the UK that examined environmental noise and cardiovascular disease. There were statistically no significant associations between road traffic noise and i... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811908 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811908 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811907&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537108%26dopt%3DAbstract This article reviews the existing knowledge from these studies over time, and presents the exposure-response curves, with and without interaction assessment, based on standardized re-analyses and discusses it in the light of past and current cardiovascular noise effects research. The findings support relevant moderation by age, gender, and family history in nearly all studies and suggest a strong need for consideration of non-linearity in the exposure-response analyses. On the other hand, air pollution has not played a relevant role as a moderator in the noise-hypertension or the noise-angina pectoris relationship. Finally, different noise modeling procedures can introduce variations in the exposure response curves, with substantive consequences for public health risk assessment of noise e... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811907 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811907 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4811906&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21537109%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ndrepepa A, Twardella D Road traffic noise is an important source of noise annoyance in the community. We performed a meta-analysis to assess whether there is an association between noise annoyance from road traffic noise and cardiovascular diseases (arterial hypertension and ischemic heart disease) in adult population. The meta-analysis included studies that: a. had noise annoyance as exposure, quantified either as "annoyed versus non-annoyed" or with various scales collected by standardized questionnaires; b. arterial hypertension or ischemic heart disease as outcome; c. had included only adult population (age >18 years); d. the studies had to have as effect size odds ratios or relative risk. From the individual studies those odds ratios were selected for meta-analysis wh... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4811906 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4811906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582299&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368432%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Davis RR PMID: 21368432 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582299 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582298&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368433%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Byrne DC, Davis RR, Shaw PB, Specht BM, Holland AN Noise-induced hearing loss is almost always preventable if properly fitted hearing protectors are worn to reduce exposure. Many individuals choose not to wear hearing protection because it may interfere with effective communication in the workplace or it may be uncomfortable. Hearing protector comfort has not received the same amount of attention as noise reduction capability. The present study was conducted to evaluate the comfort level of two different types of insert earplugs as well as the attenuation levels achieved by the earplugs. Attenuation levels were obtained with a commercially available earplug fit-test system, and the comfort ratings were obtained by questionnaire. The primary research objective was to determine ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582298 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582297&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368434%26dopt%3DAbstract This study examined several comfort indicators in the earmuff-type hearing protectors. Twenty subjects wore hearing protectors instrumented with two different temperature/humidity measurement systems (Omega and iButton) while walking a corridor for about 25 min. The instruments recorded the temperature and humidity every 10 s and their results were compared. In addition, skin surface pH was measured at the ear canal entrance before and after the task. Finally, the subject indicated earmuff comfort at the beginning and end of the session. Earmuff comfort decreased significantly over the course of the walking task. Ear canal pH became slightly less acidic, but the change was not statistically significant. The two temperature/humidity systems provided comparable results. Heat increased at abo... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582297 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582296&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368435%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Alali KA, Casali JG A human factors experiment employed a hemi-anechoic sound field in which listeners were required to localize a vehicular backup alarm warning signal (both a standard and a frequency-augmented alarm) in 360-degrees azimuth in pink noise of 60 dBA and 90 dBA. Measures of localization performance included: (1) percentage correct localization, (2) percentage of right--left localization errors, (3) percentage of front-rear localization errors, and (4) localization absolute deviation in degrees from the alarm's actual location. In summary, the data demonstrated that, with some exceptions, normal hearing listeners' ability to localize the backup alarm in 360-degrees azimuth did not improve when wearing augmented hearing protectors (including dichotic sound transmi... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582296 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582295&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368436%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stephenson CM, Stephenson MR In phase 1 of a large multiyear effort, health communication and health promotion models were used to develop a comprehensive hearing loss prevention training program for carpenters. Additionally, a survey was designed to be used as an evaluation instrument. The models informed an iterative research process in which the authors used key informant interviews, focus groups, and early versions of the survey tool to identify critical issues expected to be relevant to the success of the hearing loss prevention training. Commonly held attitudes and beliefs associated with occupational noise exposure and hearing losses, as well as issues associated with the use or non-use of hearing protectors, were identified. The training program was then specifically c... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582295 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582294&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368437%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stephenson MR, Shaw PB, Stephenson CM, Graydon PS Two demonstration projects were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive training program for carpenters. This training was paired with audiometry and counseling and a survey of attitudes and beliefs in hearing loss prevention. All participants received hearing tests, multimedia instruction on occupational noise exposure/hearing loss, and instruction and practice in using a diverse selection of hearing protection devices (HPDs). A total of 103 apprentice carpenters participated in the Year 1 training, were given a large supply of these HPDs, and instructions on how to get additional free supplies if they ran out during the 1-year interval between initial and follow-up training. Forty-two participants responded... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582294 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582293&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368438%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Murphy WJ, Stephenson MR, Byrne DC, Witt B, Duran J The effect of training instruction, whether presented as the manufacturer's printed instructions, a short video training session specific to the product, or as a one-on-one training session was evaluated using four hearing protection devices with eight groups of subjects. Naïve subjects were recruited and tested using three different forms of training: written, video, and individual training. The group averages for A-weighted attenuation were not statistically significant when compared between the video or the written instruction conditions, regardless of presentation order. The experimenter-trained A-weighted attenuations were significantly greater than the written and video instruction for most of the protectors and groups... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582293 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582292&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368439%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ehlers JJ, Graydon PS Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a common and preventable injury for farmers. Farmers are frequently exposed to excessive noise, ranking among the top three occupations and industries with the highest risk for hearing loss. Use of hearing protection among farmers is not common. Although the age when NIHL begins among farmers is unknown, its prevalence is higher among male adolescents who live and work on farms. The purpose of this paper is to describe how NIOSH created partnerships to promote hearing conservation for this hard-to-reach population. Partnerships included organizations and individuals who were trusted sources of information for the target population, young farmers 14-35 years of age and their families, and those who had linkages in rural... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582292 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582291&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368440%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hager LD The performance of hearing protection devices (HPD) worn by individual workers in specific noise-exposure environments has been difficult to assess using the hearing protector ratings printed on HPD packages. Because the role of the HPD in prevention of hearing loss remains as a vital last line of defense against the effects of noise exposure, proper assessment of their performance is increasingly critical. HPD fit-testing procedures now allow the individual fit-testing of HPD to assist in appropriate selection of HPD for individual workers, to aid in training workers on proper use of HPDs, and a range of other applications. Understanding these technologies, their strengths and weaknesses, and appropriate application of the results of fit-testing may enable employers ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582291 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582290&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368441%26dopt%3DAbstract This article reviews how this technology is being used to protect noise-exposed workers. Earplug fit-testing systems are becoming more commercially available and more feasible for field use. Individual fit-testing is no longer used only for research investigations but is being incorporated in Hearing Conservation Programs (HCP) to improve training, document protection and evaluate the effectiveness of the hearing protector element of an effective HCP. PMID: 21368441 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582290 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582289&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368442%26dopt%3DAbstract We report on experiments that validate the ability of one commercially available F-MIRE device to predict the REAT of an earplug fitted identically for two tests. Results are reported on a representative roll-down foam earplug, stemmed-style pod plug, and pre-molded earplug, demonstrating that the 95% confidence level of the Personal Attenuation Rating (PAR) as a function of the number of fits varies from ±4.4 dB to ±6.3 dB, depending on the plug type, which can be reduced to ±3.1 dB to ±4.5 dB with a single repeat measurement. The added measurement improves precision substantially. However, the largest portion of the error is due to the user's fitting variability and not the uncertainty of the measurement system. Further we evaluated the inherent uncertainty of F-MIRE vs. the putative... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582289 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582288&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368443%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Huttunen KH, Sivonen VP, Poykko VT Despite a high level of sound exposure and a fairly large selection of earplugs available, musicians have often been reported to use personal hearing protectors only seldom. For better hearing conservation, it is important to identify and eliminate the causes for the low motivation to use hearing protection. We explored the usage rate of custom-molded musician's earplugs (ER-15) among 15 symphony orchestra musicians with a questionnaire, and measured the attenuation properties of their earplugs with a Real-Ear Attenuation at Threshold (REAT) procedure in a sound field. Earplug use was found to be low, and the musicians reported that earplugs hampered listening to their own and their colleagues' playing; earplugs affected either timbre or dyna... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582288 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582287&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368444%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Williams W A qualitative workplace trial was undertaken to examine the performance of sound restoration, level-dependent electronic hearing protectors (HPs) in a high impulsive noise environment using participants who were very experienced in the regular use of passive HPs. The results indicate that this type of HP is well accepted by experienced users, particularly so, by those who appreciate reliable communication while wearing the devices. PMID: 21368444 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582287 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4582286&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21368445%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Michael K, Tougaw E, Wilkinson R PMID: 21368445 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4582286 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4582286 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278327&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173480%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prasher D PMID: 21173480 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278327 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:53 +0100 4278327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278326&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173481%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Takahashi Y To investigate the contribution of body vibrations to the vibratory sensation induced by high-level, complex low-frequency noise, we conducted two experiments. In Experiment 1, eight male subjects were exposed to seven types of low-frequency noise stimuli: two pure tones [a 31.5-Hz, 100-dB(SPL) tone and a 50-Hz, 100-dB(SPL) tone] and five complex noises composed of the pure tones. For the complex noise stimuli, the sound pressure level of one tonal component was 100 dB(SPL) and that of another one was either 90, 95, or 100 dB(SPL). Vibration induced on the body surface was measured at five locations, and the correlation with the subjective rating of the vibratory sensation at each site of measurement was examined. In Experiment 2, the correlation between the body s... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278326 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:50 +0100 4278326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278325&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173482%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kahari KR, Aslund T, Olsson J The main purpose of this descriptive field study was to explore music listening habits and preferred listening levels with portable music players (PMPs). We were also interested in seeing whether any exposure differences could be observed between the sexes. Data were collected during 12 hours at Stockholm Central Station, where people passing by were invited to measure their preferred PMP listening level by using a KEMAR manikin. People were also asked to answer a questionnaire about their listening habits. In all, 60 persons (41 men and 19 women) took part in the questionnaire study and 61 preferred PMP levels to be measured. Forty-one of these sound level measurements were valid to be reported after consideration was taken to acceptable measurin... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278325 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:44 +0100 4278325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278324&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173483%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mahendra Prashanth KV, Venugopalachar S Noise is a common occupational health hazard in most industrial settings. An assessment of noise and its adverse health effects based on noise intensity is inadequate. For an efficient evaluation of noise effects, frequency spectrum analysis should also be included. This paper aims to substantiate the importance of studying the contribution of noise frequencies in evaluating health effects and their association with physiological behavior within human body. Additionally, a review of studies published between 1988 and 2009 that investigate the impact of industrial/occupational noise on auditory and non-auditory effects and the probable association and contribution of noise frequency components to these effects is presented. The relevant s... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278324 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:40 +0100 4278324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278323&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173484%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was conducted to examine industrial workers' perceptions of the performance of two level-dependent HPDs (one with integrated radio communication capability and one without it) and their customary passive HPDs. This research took place at a plastic film manufacturing plant in Rhode Island, USA, following a mixed-measures design. Fifteen maintenance technicians at the plant evaluated the two level-dependent HPDs, plus their customary passive HPDs, in three separate trial periods. Data were collected via a questionnaire designed for this purpose. Mixed-model analyses of variance were performed on all dependent measures. Linear and quadratic effect sizes were assessed with eta. Results revealed that the two level-dependent HPDs offered better perceived communication and situational ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278323 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:37 +0100 4278323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278322&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173485%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wubben SM, Brueggeman PM, Stevens DC, Helseth CC, Blaschke K The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an environment that provides premature and fragile infants with health provisions needed to make a complete recovery. Premature infants are often born before their auditory systems have had an opportunity to fully mature. Research has shown that the ambient acoustic environment in the NICU exceeds the maximum noise level recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, even after measures have been taken to decrease noise levels. The purpose of this study is to evaluate noise levels inside an Ohmeda Medical Giraffe TM OmniBed TM , the natural attenuation of the incubator, and the effects of modifications on attenuation and reverberation within the Giraffe TM OmniBed TM . T... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278322 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:33 +0100 4278322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278321&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173486%26dopt%3DAbstract This study intended to evaluate classical musicians' risk of hearing loss. We studied 63 musicians from four Helsinki classical orchestras. We measured their hearing loss with an audiometer, found their prior amount of exposure to sound and some individual susceptibility factors with a questionnaire, measured their present sound exposure with dosimeters, and tested their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, then compared their hearing loss to ISO 1999-1990's predictions. The musicians' hearing loss distribution corresponded to that of the general population, but highly exposed musicians had greater hearing loss at frequencies over 3 kHz than less-exposed ones. Their individual susceptibly factors were low. Music deteriorates hearing, but by less than what ISO 1999-1990 predicted. The low... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278321 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:30 +0100 4278321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278320&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173487%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Heinonen-Guzejev M, Jauhiainen T, Vuorinen H, Viljanen A, Rantanen T, Koskenvuo M, Heikkila K, Mussalo-Rauhamaa H, Kaprio J The aim of this study was to investigate the association of noise sensitivity with self-reported hearing disability and hearing levels, with consideration of the role of self-reported history of noise exposure and use of hearing protectors. The study is based on the Finnish Twin Cohort. In 1988, a noise questionnaire was sent to 1005 twin pairs, 1495 individuals (688 men, 807 women) replied. The age range was 31-88 years. Information on some potential confounders was obtained from the questionnaire in 1981 for the same individuals. A subsample of thirty-eight elderly women with noise sensitivity response from 1988 had audiometry data from 2000 to 2001. No... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278320 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:26 +0100 4278320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278319&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173488%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Qian CL, Behar A, Wong W With over 70 dancers and its own orchestra, The National Ballet of Canada ranks amongst the world's top dance companies. It performs three seasons annually: fall, winter and summer, plus many shows of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The 70-strong orchestra plays an average of 360 hours/year including rehearsals and performances. Rehearsals are held at two locations: one in a ballet rehearsal room with little or no absorption, and the other in an acoustically treated location. Performances are held in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. The present survey was done at the request of the National Ballet, since the musicians complained of excessive sound levels and were concerned about possible hearing losses. The survey was performed usi... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278319 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:22 +0100 4278319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278318&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173489%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Coll E A, Legrand C, Govaerts B, Veken PV, De Boodt F, Degrave E The armed forces are highly exposed to occupational noise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and noise exposures associated with the severity of hearing loss (HL) in a Belgian military population. A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Centre for Medical Expertise (CME) and in four Units of Occupational Medicine (UOM). Hearing thresholds were determined by audiometry. The examination included a questionnaire on hearing-related medical history, and noise exposure in military and leisure time activity. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to assess the association of the severity of HL with tinnitus, with the military occupation, and with noise exposures. Of the 2055 subjects ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278318 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:18 +0100 4278318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278317&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173490%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ramma L, Petersen L, Singh S South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches are known worldwide as some of the noisiest recreational events. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to i) measure noise levels during different PSL matches; ii) measure changes in auditory function after attending PSL matches; and iii) determine the factors that increase the risk of overexposure to noise during PSL matches. The study used a descriptive quantitative analytical pre- and post-exposure design. Participants (n = 19, and n = 10) attended two PSL matches. Each participant's auditory function was assessed using distortion product oto-acoustic emissions (DPOAEs) before and after attending a PSL match. Peak and equivalent continuous noise levels as well as noise dose were measured d... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278317 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:10 +0100 4278317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4278316&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21173491%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ahroon WA, Hill ME, Goodes DP Damage-risk criteria (DRC) for noise exposures are designed to protect 95% of the exposed populations from hearing injuries caused by those noise exposures. The current DRC used by the US military follows OSHA guidelines for continuous noise. The current military DRC for impulse exposures follows the recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council Committee on Hearing, Bioacoustics, and Biomechanics (CHABA) and are contained in the current military standard, MIL-STD-1474D "Noise Limits." Suggesting that the MIL-STD for impulse exposure is too stringent, various individuals have proposed that the DRC for exposure to high-level impulses be relaxed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current hearing status ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4278316 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:50:05 +0100 4278316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007390&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871173%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hygge S, Kjellberg A PMID: 20871173 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007390 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:41 +0100 4007390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007389&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871174%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jones DM, Hughes RW, Macken WJ One mental activity that is very vulnerable to auditory distraction is serial recall. This review of the contemporary findings relating to serial recall charts the key determinants of distraction. It is evident that there is one form of distraction that is a joint product of the cognitive characteristics of the task and of the obligatory cognitive processing of the sound. For sequences of sound, distraction appears to be an ineluctable product of similarity-of-process, specifically, the serial order processing of the visually presented items and the serial order coding that is the by-product of the streaming of the sound. However, recently emerging work shows that the distraction from a single sound (one deviating from a prevailing sequence) resu... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007389 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:38 +0100 4007389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007388&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871175%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Marsh JE, Jones DM Mental tasks are susceptible to disruption by concurrent to-be-ignored speech. The goal of the present paper is to examine whether a theoretical framework successfully applied to irrelevant speech effects in serial recall-interference by process-can be extended to verbal tasks in which meaning is the basis of retrieval and to which the irrelevant sound is related to different degrees by meaning. That the semantic characteristics of the to-be-ignored sound interact with the predominance of semantic retrieval in the focal task to determine the degree of disruption is demonstrated in three settings: free recall, category-clustering and fluency. Source monitoring-the difficulty in discriminating episodic information on the basis of the sense modality (visual or ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007388 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:35 +0100 4007388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007387&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871176%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sörqvist P The purpose of this paper was to review the current knowledge on individual differences in susceptibility to the effects of task-irrelevant sound on cognition. The literature indicates that at least two functionally different cognitive mechanisms underlie those differences; one is the efficiency by which people process the order between perceptually discrete sound events and the other is related to working memory capacity. The first mechanism seems to be involved only when disruption is a function of conflicting order processes, whereas the other mechanism is involved in a wider range of phenomena including those when attentional capture and conflicting semantic processes form the basis of disruption. Because of this, noise abatement interventions should first of... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007387 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:32 +0100 4007387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007386&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871177%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Shield B, Greenland E, Dockrell J This paper presents a review of research carried out in the past 40 years into various aspects of noise in open plan classrooms. The emergence of open plan classroom design in response to progressive educational reforms is discussed. A limited amount of evidence of the effects of noise in open plan classrooms is presented. Surveys of both background and intrusive noise levels in open plan classrooms are summarized and compared. Differences between noise levels in open plan and enclosed classrooms are also considered. Recommended noise limits and acoustic design criteria for open plan classrooms are discussed, together with some current international standards. The paper concludes with a discussion of appropriate noise control measures to reduc... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007386 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:29 +0100 4007386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007385&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871178%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Smith A, Waters B, Jones H Previous research has suggested that prior exposure to noise reduces the effect of subsequent exposure due to habituation. Similarly, a number of studies have shown that exposure to Mozart's music leads to better subsequent spatial reasoning performance. Two studies were conducted to extend these findings. The first one examined whether habituation occurs to office noise (including speech) and, if so, how long it takes to develop. Thirty-six young adults participated in the first study which compared effects of office noise with quiet on the performance of a maths task. The study also examined the effects of prior exposure to the office noise on the subsequent effect of the noise. The results showed that performance was initially impaired by the offi... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007385 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:26 +0100 4007385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007384&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871179%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Matheson M, Clark C, Martin R, van Kempen E, Haines M, Barrio IL, Hygge S, Stansfeld S Previous studies have found that chronic exposure to aircraft noise has a negative effect on children's performance on tests of episodic memory. The present study extended the design of earlier studies in three ways: firstly, by examining the effects of two noise sources, aircraft and road traffic, secondly, by examining exposure-effect relationships, and thirdly, by carrying out parallel field studies in three European countries, allowing cross-country comparisons to be made. A total of 2844 children aged between 8 years 10 months and 12 years 10 months (mean age 10 years 6 months) completed classroom-based tests of cued recall, recognition memory and prospective memory. Questionnaires were... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007384 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:23 +0100 4007384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007383&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871180%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, results from both studies suggest that night aircraft noise exposure does not appear to add any cognitive performance decrement to the cognitive decrement induced by daytime aircraft noise alone. We suggest that the school should be the main focus of attention for protection of children against the effects of aircraft noise on school performance. PMID: 20871180 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007383 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:19 +0100 4007383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007382&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871181%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rönnberg J, Rudner M, Lunner T, Zekveld AA Perceptual load and cognitive load can be separately manipulated and dissociated in their effects on speech understanding in noise. The Ease of Language Understanding model assumes a theoretical position where perceptual task characteristics interact with the individual's implicit capacities to extract the phonological elements of speech. Phonological precision and speed of lexical access are important determinants for listening in adverse conditions. If there are mismatches between the phonological elements perceived and phonological representations in long-term memory, explicit working memory (WM)-related capacities will be continually invoked to reconstruct and infer the contents of the ongoing discourse. Whether this induces a ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007382 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:16 +0100 4007382 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007381&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871182%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Klatte M, Lachmann T, Meis M The effects of classroom noise and background speech on speech perception, measured by word-to-picture matching, and listening comprehension, measured by execution of oral instructions, were assessed in first- and third-grade children and adults in a classroom-like setting. For speech perception, in addition to noise, reverberation time (RT) was varied by conducting the experiment in two virtual classrooms with mean RT = 0.47 versus RT = 1.1 s. Children were more impaired than adults by background sounds in both speech perception and listening comprehension. Classroom noise evoked a reliable disruption in children΄s speech perception even under conditions of short reverberation. RT had no effect on speech perception in silence, but evoked a seve... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007381 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:13 +0100 4007381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007380&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871183%26dopt%3DAbstract Comment on "The state of the art of predicting noise-induced sleep disturbance in field settings". Noise Health. 2010 Oct-Dec;12(49):283-4 Authors: Basner M, Griefahn B, Hume KI PMID: 20871183 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007380 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:09 +0100 4007380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4007379&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20871184%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wiwanitkit V PMID: 20871184 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4007379 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:50:06 +0100 4007379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734339&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603571%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Williams W, Beach EF, Gilliver M Anecdotally it has been suggested that exposure to some noise sources through leisure activities could have a significant effect on whole-of-life noise exposure. While exposure levels do vary, a typical night club or dance club attendee was found to experience an equivalent continuous A-weighted noise level of around 98 dB for up to 5 hours with an exposure of 12.2 Pa 2 h. This can extend up to 104 Pa 2 h in extreme cases. A study of "clubbers" reveals regular clubbing to be a source of high noise exposure, with a sustained period of regular club attendance contributing to a significant portion of whole-of-life noise exposure. PMID: 20603571 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734339 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734338&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603572%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Coleman J, Huang X, Liu J, Kopke R, Jackson R The efficacy of three different doses of sodium salicylate (SAL) in combination with one dose of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to prevent noise-induced hearing loss was studied in chinchillas. After obtaining baseline-hearing thresholds, the chinchillas were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: three sets were injected intraperitoneally with 325 mg/kg NAC combined with 25, 50, or 75 mg/kg SAL, and a separate control group was injected with an equal volume of saline. Animals were injected twice daily for 2 days prior to and 1 hour before the noise exposure (6 hours to a 105-dB Standard Pressure Level octave band noise centered at 4 kHz). Immediate post-noise hearing thresholds were obtained followed by post-noise treatments a... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734338 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734337&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603573%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska M, Dudarewicz A, Szymczak W, Sliwinska-Kowalska M The aim of the study was to investigate the annoyance of low frequency noise (LFN) at levels normally prevailing at workplaces in control rooms and office-like areas. Two different laboratory experiments were carried out. The first experiment included 55 young volunteers and the second one comprised 70 older volunteers, categorized in terms of sensitivity to noise. The subjects listened to noise samples with different spectra, including LFNs at sound pressure level (SPL) of 45-67 dBA, and evaluated annoyance using a 100-score graphical rating scale. The subjective ratings of annoyance were compared to different noise metrics. In both the experiments, there were no differences in annoyance assessments betwe... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734337 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734336&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603574%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Goyal S, Gupta V, Walia L The study was carried out in 200 male volunteers. They were divided into two groups. The study group was exposed to noise levels of more than 80 dB(A) for more than 8 hours a day for a period of 6 months, working in the steel and hammer industry, whereas the control group was working under normal conditions. The mean age of subjects was 33.33 + 0.867 years and the mean noise level to which they were exposed was 90.34 + 0.781 dB(A). Various autonomic function tests were carried out in both the groups and results were analyzed using Z test. Heart rate was recorded on cardiofax ECG machine and blood pressure (BP) was recorded using sphygmomanometer. The tests depicted significant increase in the mean resting heart rate and the heart rate response to stan... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734336 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734335&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603575%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of concurrent exposure to cigarette smoke and occupational noise on binaural hearing impairment (BHI). In an analytic study on the workers of a large wagon manufacturing company in 2007, 622 male workers (252 smokers and 370 non-smokers, matched for other variables) participated and their BHI was compared. BHI was significantly higher in smokers than in non-smokers (odds ratio= 5.6, P < 0.001, 95% CI =3.4-9.4). Logistic regression confirmed this significant difference as well, and showed a direct relationship between the amount of BHI and pack/years of smoking. Cigarette smoking accompanied by exposure to workplace noise may play a role in causing binaural hearing impairment, so giving up or decreasing the amount of smoking may prevent or at ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734335 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734334&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603576%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kumar K, Vivarthini CJ, Bhat JS Noise affects one's hearing as well as balance mechanism. The hearing mechanism of the noise-exposed individuals has been extensively studied. However, in view of the poor research focus on the sacculo-collic reflexes, especially in this study area, the present study was undertaken to examine the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) in subjects with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). A total of 30 subjects (55 ears) with NIHL participated in the present study within the age range of 30-40 years. VEMP recordings were done at 99 dBnHL using IHS instrument. The results indicated that as the average pure tone hearing threshold increased, the VEMP latencies were prolonged and peak to peak amplitude was reduced in NIHL subjects. Out of the 55 ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734334 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3734333&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20603577%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bhosale BJ, Late A, Nalawade PM, Chavan SP, Mule MB With the rapid rate of urbanization of Aurangabad city due to the expanding industrialization, the problem of noise pollution has become a concern for urban dwellers and government authority too. Noise pollution due to vehicular traffic is one of the growing environmental problems of urban centers. The study deals with the assessment of traffic noise levels in Aurangabad city. With respect to the total number of vehicles passing the road in unit time, which was surveyed by direct count method, six different sites from Aurangabad city, viz., Nagar Naka, Kranti Chowk, CIDCO bus stand, Railway station area, Dhoot Hospital and Baba petrol pump were selected to study the vehicular noise level. Noise measurements were carried out a... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3734333 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3734333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582365&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472949%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fidell S PMID: 20472949 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582365 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582364&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472950%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kim R, Berg M Considering the scientific evidence on the threshold of night noise exposure indicated by L night as defined in the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC), L night value of 40 dB should be the target of the night noise guideline (NNG) to protect the public, including the most vulnerable groups such as children, the chronically ill and the elderly. L night value of 55 dB is recommended as an interim target for countries which cannot follow NNG in the short term for various reasons and where policy-makers choose to adopt a stepwise approach. These guidelines may be considered an extension to the previous World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for community noise (1999). PMID: 20472950 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582364 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582364 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582363&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472951%26dopt%3DAbstract This article reviews the definition of disturbed sleep versus sleep deprivation as well as the effects of noise on sleep. We review the various health effects of chronic partial sleep loss with a focus on the neuroendocrine/hormonal, cardiovascular, and mental health repercussions. PMID: 20472951 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582363 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582363 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582362&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472952%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hume K There is growing interest in carrying out further research to understand and reduce the impact of aircraft noise on airport neighborhood in anticipation of the projected substantial increase in global aviation. Soundscapes provide new analytical methods and a broader, more comprehensive appreciation of the aural environment, which may have a useful role in understanding noise-induced sleep disturbance and annoyance. Current noise metrics like Leq do not provide a common language to report noise environment to residents, which is a key obstacle to effective noise management and acceptance. Non-auditory effects complicate the production of consistent dose-response functions for aircraft noise affecting sleep and annoyance. There are various end-points that can be chosen t... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582362 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582362 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582361&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472953%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fidell S, Tabachnick B, Pearsons KS Several relationships between intruding noises (largely aircraft) and sleep disturbance have been inferred from the findings of a handful of field studies. Comparisons of sleep disturbance rates predicted by the various relationships are complicated by inconsistent data collection methods and definitions of predictor variables and predicted quantities. None of the relationships is grounded in theory-based understanding, and some depend on questionable statistical assumptions and analysis procedures. The credibility, generalizability, and utility of sleep disturbance predictions are also limited by small and nonrepresentative samples of test participants, and by restricted (airport-specific and relatively short duration) circumstances of expo... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582361 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582360&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472954%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Finegold LS Research on nighttime sleep disturbance due to community noise sources, particularly from exposure to aircraft noise, has been conducted for over a half decade. However, there are still no national environmental noise policies (i.e., laws and regulations) promulgated which prescribe a specific criterion for an exposure limit which is regulatory in nature. In the U.S., the new American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Noise Standard, ANSI S12.9-2008/Part 6, Quantities and Procedures for Description and Measurement of Environmental Sound - Part 6: Methods for Estimation of Awakenings Associated with Outdoor Noise Events Heard in Homes, does provide the currently recommended exposure-response relationship used in the U.S. In Europe, there has also been significant ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582360 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582359&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472955%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Basner M, Griefahn B, Berg M There is an ample number of laboratory and field studies which provide sufficient evidence that aircraft noise disturbs sleep and, depending on traffic volume and noise levels, may impair behavior and well-being during the day. Although clinical sleep disorders have been shown to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, only little is known about the long-term effects of aircraft noise disturbed sleep on health. National and international laws and guidelines try to limit aircraft noise exposure facilitating active and passive noise control to prevent relevant sleep disturbances and its consequences. Adopting the harmonized indicator of the European Union Directive 2002/49/EC, the WHO Night Noise Guideline for Europe (NNG) defin... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582359 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582359 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582358&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472956%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lercher P, Brink M, Rudisser J, Van Renterghem T, Botteldooren D, Baulac M, Defrance J In the 1980s/90s, a number of socio-acoustic surveys and laboratory studies on railway noise effects have observed less reported disturbance/interference with sleep at the same exposure level compared with other modes of transportation. This lower grade of disturbance has received the label "railway bonus", was implemented in noise legislation in a number of European countries and was applied in planning and environmental impact assessments. However, majority of the studies investigating physiological outcomes did not find the bespoke difference. In a telephone survey (N=1643) we investigated the relationship between railway noise and sleep medication intake and the impact of railway noise e... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582358 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582358 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582357&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472957%26dopt%3DAbstract This study examines ERPs elicited by stimuli with physical characteristics akin to environmental noise encountered during sleep. Brief duration 40, 60 or 80 dB sound pressure level (SPL) tones were presented either rapidly (on average every two seconds) or slowly (on average every 10 seconds). The rates of presentation and intensity of the stimuli were similar to those observed in environmental studies of noise. ERPs were recorded from nine young adults during sleep and wakefulness. During wakefulness, the amplitude of an early negative ERP, N1, systematically increased as intensity level increased. A later positivity, the P3a, was apparent following the loudest 80 dB stimulus regardless of the rate of stimulus presentation; it was also apparent following the 60 dB stimulus, when stimuli w... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582357 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582356&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472958%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Griefahn B, Robens S Cortisol awakening response (CAR), a considerable increase in cortisol concentrations post-awakening, is considered a reliable indicator of the reactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). As noise has been shown to activate the HPA-axis, this analysis focuses on CAR as a possible indicator of noise-induced sleep disturbances. This analysis focuses on CAR using two studies. In Study 1, six women and six men (18-26 years) slept for 13 nights each in the laboratory. They were exposed to the noises of three different trains, each with 20, 40 or 80 pass-bys, with equivalent noise levels varying between 44 and 58 dBA, on nine nights. In Study 2, 23 persons slept first for four nights and then four days, in the laboratory; finally 23 persons slep... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582356 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582356 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3582355&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20472959%26dopt%3DAbstract This article reviews event-related potentials (ERPs) the minute responses of the human brain that are elicited by external auditory stimuli and how the ERPs can be used to measure sleep disturbance. ERPs consist of a series of negative- and positive-going components. A negative component peaking at about 100 ms, N1, is thought to reflect the outcome of a transient detector system, activated by change in the transient energy in an acoustic stimulus. Its output and thus the amplitude of N1 increases as the intensity level of the stimulus is increased and when the rate of presentation is slowed. When the output reaches a certain critical level, operations of the central executive are interrupted and attention is switched to the auditory channel. This switching of attention is thought to be in... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3582355 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3582355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285124&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160385%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bronzaft AL From the latter part of the 19 th century, when New York City trains began to operate, until the present time, New York City's Transit Authority has received train noise complaints from riders and residents living near its transit system. The growing body of literature demonstrating the adverse effects of noise on physical and mental health raises the question as to whether transit noise is hazardous to the health of New York City's transit riders and residents living near the transit system. Several studies have examined the impacts of the noise of New York's transit system on hearing, health and learning. Despite the Transit Authority's efforts to remedy transit noise in response to complaints, the noise problem has not yet been satisfactorily ameliorated. This p... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285124 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285123&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160386%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, the reported physical and mental health variables were not associated with noise exposure but with noise annoyance, and were interpreted to reflect nonspecific codeterminants of annoyance rather than noise effects. Noise sensitivity was found to influence total noise annoyance and aircraft noise annoyance but to a lesser degree annoyance due to road traffic noise. Noise sensitivity was associated with reported physical health, but not with reported mental health. Noise-sensitive persons reported poorer environmental quality in their residential area than less sensitive persons in particular with regard to air traffic (including the facets noise, pollution, and contaminations) and quietness. Other aspects of the perceived quality of the environment were scarcely associated wi... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285123 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285122&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160387%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kroesen M, Molin EJ, Wee B In this paper, an attempt is made to establish the direction of causality between a range of psychological factors and aircraft noise annoyance. For this purpose, a panel model was estimated within a structural equation modeling approach. Data were gathered from two surveys conducted in April 2006 and April 2008, respectively, among the same residents living within the 45 Level day-evening-night contour of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the largest airport in the Netherlands (n=250). A surprising result is that none of the paths from the psychological factors to aircraft noise annoyance were found to be significant. Yet 2 effects were significant the other way around: (1) from 'aircraft noise annoyance' to 'concern about the negative health effects of n... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285122 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285121&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160388%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Elliott RM, McKinley SM, Eager D High technology and activity levels in the intensive care unit (ICU) lead to elevated and disturbing sound levels. As noise has been shown to affect the ability of patients to rest and sleep, continuous sound levels are required during sleep investigations. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a robust protocol to measure continuous sound levels for a larger more substantive future study to improve sleep for the ICU patient. A review of published studies of sound levels in intensive care settings revealed sufficient information to develop a study protocol. The study protocol resulted in 10 usable recordings out of 11 attempts to collect pilot data. The mean recording time was 17.49 +/- 4.5 h. Sound levels exceeded recommendations made by ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285121 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285120&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160389%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was undertaken to assess heat and noise exposure and occupational safety practices in small and medium scale casting and forging units (SMEs) of Northern India. We conducted personal interviews of 350 male workers of these units through a comprehensive questionnaire and collected information on heat and noise exposure, use of protective equipment, sweat loss and water intake, working hour. The ambient wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT index) was measured using quest temp 34/36o area heat stress monitor. A-weighted Leq ambient noise was measured using a quest sound level meter "ANSI SI. 43-1997 (R 2002) type-1 model SOUNDPRO SE/DL". We also incorporated OSHA norms for hearing conservation which include - an exchange rate of 5dB(A), criterion level at 90dB(A), criterion time of eig... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285120 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285119&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160390%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Karimi A, Nasiri S, Kazerooni FK, Oliaei M Hearing sense is one of the key elements which may have impact on the driver's task quality. This cross-sectional study investigates the hearing status of 500 truck drivers by pure tone audiometry (AC) in one of the cities in Fars province, Iran. Hearing threshold levels of the subjects were measured in frequencies of 500Hz-8000Hz. Screening and determination of permanent threshold shift (PTS) was the first aim of this study. Hence tests were done at least 16 hours after any exposure to noticeable sound. The effect of age as a confounding factor was considered using ISO equation and subtracted from whole hearing threshold. The threshold of 25 dB HL and above was considered abnormal but the calculation of hearing was also carried out u... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285119 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3285116&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D20160391%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Saini R, Saini G, Saini S, PMID: 20160391 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3285116 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3285116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872598&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805925%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Borchgrevink HM It is well established that intermittent noise exposure characteristically produces less hearing loss than equal energy/intensity continuous noise in animal models. Ongoing different shift work regimes open for direct studies on hearing effects of intermittent noise exposure in man without ethical concern. Amazingly, few such studies are reported. In one recent study in the present volume, noise-exposed employees working 12 hours a day for two consecutive days followed by two days off, the cycle then repeated, had significantly lower permanent hearing loss than employees working nine-hour shifts from 8 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday. This commentary refers to the few studies reported, gives a short overview of the mechanisms behind noise-induced hearing loss and t... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872598 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872597&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805926%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, working a 12-hour shift followed by a day off is best for workers and hearing protection should be provided in high noise areas. PMID: 19805926 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872597 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872596&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805927%26dopt%3DAbstract The objective of this study is to develop an empirical noise prediction model for the evaluation of equivalent noise levels (Leq) under interrupted traffic flow conditions. A new factor tendency to blow horn (A H ) was introduced in the conventional federal highway administrative noise prediction (FHWA) model and a comparative study was made between FHWA and modified FHWA models to evaluate the best suitability of the model. Monitoring and modeling of Leq were carried out at four selected intersections of Jaipur city. After comparison of the results, it was found that the modified FHWA model could be satisfactorily applied for Indian conditions as it gives acceptable results with a deviation of 3 dB (A). In addition, statistical analysis of the data comprising measured and estimated values... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872596 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872595&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805928%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ljung R, Sorqvist P, Hygge S Irrelevant speech in classrooms and road traffic noise adjacent to schools have a substantial impact on children's ability to learn. Comparing the effects of different noise sources on learning may help construct guidelines for noise abatement programs. Experimental studies are important to establish dose-response relationships and to expand our knowledge beyond correlation studies. This experiment examined effects of road traffic noise and irrelevant speech on children's reading speed, reading comprehension, basic mathematics, and mathematical reasoning. A total of 187 pupils (89 girls and 98 boys), 12-13 years old, were tested in their ordinary classrooms. Road traffic noise was found to impair reading speed (P < 0.01) and basic mathematics (P... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872595 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872594&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805929%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Abel SM, Boyne S, Roesler-Mulroney H Conventional hearing protection devices result in decrements mainly in the ability to distinguish front from rearward sound sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of wearing an earplug with advanced communications capability, in combination with an army helmet, on horizontal plane speaker identification. Ten normal-hearing male subjects were tested in a semi-reverberant sound proof booth under eight conditions defined by combinations of two levels of ear occlusion (unoccluded and occluded by the earplug) and four levels of the helmet (head bare and fitted with the helmet modified to give no, partial and full ear coverage). Percent correct speaker identification was assessed using a horizontal array of eight loudspeaker... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872594 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872593&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805930%26dopt%3DAbstract This study aims to develop a neuro-fuzzy model to predict the effects of noise pollution on human work efficiency as a function of noise level, exposure time, and age of the operators doing complex type of task. PMID: 19805930 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872593 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872592&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805931%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Breimhorst M, Marks A, Robens S, Griefahn B This analysis is on the hypothesis that nocturnal traffic noise affects sleep quality whereas performance decrement is avoided by increased effort expressed by a decrease in blink rates (BRs) during a visual task. Twenty-four persons (12 women, 12 men; 19-28 years, 23.56 +/- 2.49 years) slept during three consecutive weeks in the laboratory while exposed to road, rail, or aircraft noise with weekly permuted changes. Each week consisted of a random sequence of a quiet night (32 dBA) and three nights with equivalent noise levels of 39, 44 and 50 dBA respectively. The polysomnogram was recorded during all nights. Every morning the participants rated their sleep quality and then completed two executive tasks (Go/Nogo-, Switch-task). Neit... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872592 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872591&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805932%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, impulses produced outdoors by consumer firecrackers were recorded, described, and analyzed with respect to the amount of the auditory risk they pose to the unprotected listener under various listening conditions. Risk estimates were obtained using three contemporary damage risk criteria (DRC), including a waveform parameter-based approach (peak SPL and B duration), an energy-based criterion (A-weighted sound exposure level and equivalent continuous level), and a physiological model (the AHAAH model developed by Price and Kalb). Results from these DRC were converted into numbers of maximum permissible unprotected exposures to facilitate comparison. Acoustic characteristics of firecracker impulses varied with the distance, but only subtle differences were observed across firec... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872591 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2872590&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19805933%26dopt%3DAbstract This study records, describes and analyzes impulses produced outdoors by civilian firearms with respect to the amount of auditory risk they pose to the unprotected listener under various listening conditions. Risk estimates were obtained using three contemporary damage risk criteria (DRC) including a waveform parameter-based approach (peak SPL and B-duration), an energy-based criterion (A-weighted SEL and equivalent continuous level) and a physiological model (AHAAH). Results from these DRC were converted into a number of maximum permissible unprotected exposures to facilitate interpretation. Acoustic characteristics of firearm impulses differed substantially across guns, ammunition, and microphone location. The type of gun, ammunition and the microphone location all significantly affected... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2872590 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2872590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611753&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602764%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fligor BJ PMID: 19602764 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611753 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611752&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602765%26dopt%3DAbstract This study looked at output levels produced by new generation personal music systems (PMS), at the level of eardrum by placing the probe microphone in the ear canal. Further, the effect of these PMS on hearing was evaluated by comparing the distortion product otoacoustic emissions and high frequency pure tone thresholds (from 3 kHz to 12 kHz) of individuals who use PMS to that of age matched controls who did not use PMS. The relationship between output sound pressure levels and hearing measures was also evaluated. In Phase I output SPLs produced by the PMS were measured in three different conditions - a) at volume control setting that was preferred by the subjects in quiet b) at volume control setting that was preferred by the subject in presence of 65 dB SPL bus noise c) at maximum volume... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611752 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611751&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602766%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prasher D Heavy metals are chemical elements with a specific gravity that is atleast five times that of water which is 1 at 4 degrees C. The commonly encountered heavy metals are lead,mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Lead levels in children continue to be a health hazard as the current limit of 10ug/dL is considered too high with the WHO estimate of 40% of children having blood levels greater than 5ug/dL. Some authors have suggested a new limit should be set at 2ug/dL. There are substantial differences in the literature regarding the effects of lead on hearing as assessed by pure tone audiometry. Mercury causes hearing loss and neurological dysfunction in Humans and animals. Methyl mercury is considered a more toxic compound to mercuric chloride. Cadmium causes a range of health... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611751 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611751 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611750&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602767%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Achutan C In March 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was asked to evaluate the noise exposure of employees in the Nutrition and Food Services Department of a large hospital, because of noise concerns raised after the installation of the PowerSoak (R) dishwashing system. Eleven employees (two cooks, eight food service workers, and a materials handler) contributed 13 full-shift and two task-based personal noise dosimetry measures over two days. The noise levels for two food service workers assigned to the pots and pans room (85.1 and 85.2dBA), a cook working in the food preparation area (85.9 dBA), and a food service worker assigned to the dishwashing room (89.5 dBA) exceeded the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL); however, none of the m... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611750 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611749&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602768%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prasher D Noise is a stressor. Noise-induced stress can lead to release of stress hormones. Acute stress whether physical or psychological is necessary for adaptation to change. However, chronic stress can lead to the persistent elevation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical hormones, which are detrimental to health and can lead to disease states. It has also been suggested that there may be multiple interactions between the sympathetic and the complex feedback neuroendocrine systems, which interact with the immune system, in the genesis of the observed effects. Thus noise stress may be a factor contributing to the mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss through alterations in the cell-mediated immune response. Other than the noise stress acting directly, it may also have... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611749 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611748&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602769%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ratnayake SA, Jayarajan V, Bartlett J There have been several studies that have demonstrated a link between the hearing loss of subjects and tinnitus. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of the link between perceived tinnitus distress and an underlying hearing loss. The purpose of the current study is to explore this association, and ascertain whether a subject's hearing loss contributes to the handicap caused by tinnitus. A group of 96 adults were evaluated with Pure Tone Audiometry and a questionnaire that included the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). In 58% of the subjects, the side of the unilateral or worse tinnitus corresponded with the ear with poorer hearing thresholds. A subset of the THI, the Two Question Mean (TQM) that was related to questions with r... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611748 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611748 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611747&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602770%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Babisch W, Kamp I Noise is a stressor that affects the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. Under conditions of chronic noise stress the cardiovascular system may adversely be affected. Epidemiological noise studies regarding the relationship between aircraft noise and cardiovascular effects have been carried out on adults and on children focussing on mean blood pressure, hypertension and ischemic heart diseases as cardiovascular endpoints. While there is evidence that road traffic noise increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, including myocardial infarction, there is less such evidence for such an association with aircraft noise. This is partly due to the fact that large scale clinical studies are missing. There is sufficient qualitative evidence, however,... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611747 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611746&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602771%26dopt%3DAbstract This study examines whether the reduction in road traffic noise following the introduction of a bypass leads to reduction in noise annoyance and common mental disorder and an improvement in quality of life. Repeated measures field study with intervention in three small towns in North Wales, UK. Participants were residents 16 to 90 years living in areas of high or low exposure to road traffic noise. At baseline there was no difference in annoyance, quality of life or common mental disorder between traffic noise exposed and quiet areas. There was a small reduction in noise exposure (2-4 dBA) with the opening of the bypass. There was no reduction in noise annoyance and no change in levels of common mental disorder and quality of life following the introduction of the bypass. Traffic noise red... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611746 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611745&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19602772%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jensen A, Lund SP, Lucke TH, Clausen OV, Svendsen JT The possibility of non-auditory health effects in connection with occupational exposure to high level sound is supposed by some researchers, but is still debated. Crew chiefs on airfields are exposed to high-level aircraft sound when working close to aircraft with running engines. We compared their health status with a similar control group who were not subject to this specific sound exposure. Health records of 42 crew chiefs were compared to health records of 42 aircraft mechanics and 17 former crew chiefs. The specific sound exposure of crew chiefs was assessed. The number of reported disease cases was generally small, but generally slightly higher among mechanics than among crew chiefs. Diseases of the ear were more frequ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611745 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2611745 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524502&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414928%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Clausen T, Christensen KB, Lund T, Kristiansen J Self-reported noise exposure is on the rise in Denmark. Little is known, however, about the social consequences, including sickness absence, of noise exposure. The aim of this paper was to investigate the association between self-reported noise exposure and long-term sickness absence. The association was investigated using the Cox proportional hazards model to analyze outcomes in Danish register data on the basis of Danish survey data (5357 employees aged 18-69 in 2000). The analyses showed that self-reported noise exposure was significantly associated with long-term sickness absence for both men and women when adjusting for demographic factors and health behavior. After further adjustment for physical workload at work the assoc... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524502 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524501&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414929%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mallick Z, Badruddin IA, Khaleed Hussain MT, Salman Ahmed NJ, Kanesan J Over the last few years, interaction of humans with noisy power-driven agricultural tools and its possible adverse after effects have been realized. Grass-trimmer engine is the primary source of noise and the use of motorized cutter, spinning at high speed, is the secondary source of noise to which operators are exposed. In the present study, investigation was carried out to determine the effect of two types of grass-trimming machine engines (SUM 328 SE and BG 328) noise on the operators in real working environment. It was found that BG-328 and SUM-328 SE produced high levels of noise, of the order of 100 and 105 dB(A), respectively, to which operators are exposed while working. It was also observed that s... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524501 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524501 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524500&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414930%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Korres GS, Balatsouras DG, Tzagaroulakis A, Kandiloros D, Ferekidou E, Korres S Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) is an objective sensitive test of cochlear function. The aim of this study was the evaluation of noise-induced hearing loss in a group of industrial workers, using this method in conjunction with standard puretone audiometry (PTA). One hundred and five subjects (210 ears) were included in the study. PTA, tympanometry, and DPOAEs were performed. Results were analyzed using a mixed analysis of variance model, and compared with the data of 34 normal persons of similar age and sex. We found statistically significant lower DPOAE levels in the noise-exposed group than in the control group. Additionally, the effect of frequency was significant, indicating ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524500 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524499&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414931%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kishikawa H, Matsui T, Uchiyama I, Miyakawa M, Hiramatsu K, Stansfeld SA A questionnaire study was conducted in a residential area along trunk roads in Kusatsu, Japan, in order to investigate the association between noise exposure, noise sensitivity, and subjective health. Subjective health of the respondents was measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which yields the total score as an index of psychiatric disorder and four subscales. Noise sensitivity was measured by the improved version of the Weinstein's noise sensitivity scale named WNS-6B. The original WNS and a single question directly asking respondents' noise sensitivity were also applied to confirm the validity of the WNS-6B for investigating the effects of road traffic noise on subjective health. Respo... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524499 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524498&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414932%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oliveira MJ, Monteiro MP, Ribeiro AM, Pignatelli D, Aguas AP Chronic exposure to industrial noise and its effects on biological systems. Occupational exposure to noise may result in health disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to high-intensity noise of textile industry cotton rooms on the adrenal morphology. The environmental noise of a cotton-mill room from a large textile factory of Northern Portugal was recorded and reproduced by an adopted electroacoustic setup in a sound-insulated animal room where the rats were housed. The sounds were reproduced at the original levels of approximately 92 dB, which was achieved by equalization and distribution of sound output in the room. Wistar rats were submitted to noise exposure, in the same time schedule... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524498 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2524497&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19414933%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ryberg JB The highest recommended sound pressure levels for leisure sounds (music) in Sweden are 100 dB LAeq and 115 dB LAFmax for adults, and 97 dB LAeq and 110 dB LAFmax where children under the age of 13 have access. For arrangements intended for children, levels should be consistently less than 90 dB LAeq. In 2005, a national project was carried out with the aim of improving environments with high sound pressure levels from music, such as concert halls, restaurants, and cinemas. The project covered both live and recorded music. Of Sweden's 290 municipalities, 134 took part in the project, and 93 of these carried out sound measurements. Four hundred and seventy one establishments were investigated, 24% of which exceeded the highest recommended sound pressure levels for leis... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2524497 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2524497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249478&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265247%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Suter AH It has been twenty-five years since the final version of the Hearing Conservation Amendment was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor. Since that time, some things have changed and others have stayed exactly the same. Certainly the noise-exposed workforce is more knowledgeable about the hazards of noise, and the use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) has greatly increased. There have been significant strides in the technology for measuring noise and for protecting hearing through HPDs. But there is considerable room for improvement. Some of the noise regulation's provisions are embarrassingly outdated, some are in dire need of improvement, and others, such as the requirements for engineering noise control, are no... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249478 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249477&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265248%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Stewart M, Borer SE, Lehman M Exposure to high-intensity impulse noise from the recreational use of firearms is a common cause of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Although recreational firearm users who shoot firearms without proper hearing protection are at risk for NIHL, a specific subgroup involved in hunting waterfowl may also be at risk due to their particular shooting habits. The goal of the present study was to investigate the shooting habits of this particular group of U.S. recreational firearm users. A 23-item written survey was sent to waterfowl hunting club members regarding their shooting behaviors, use of hearing protective devices (HPDs), and auditory status. Results indicated that waterfowl hunters in this study typically used large bore semiautomatic shotguns... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249477 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249476&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265249%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Saunders GH, Griest SE Currently, there are more than 445,000 veterans receiving compensation for hearing loss associated with military service, and 395,000 receiving compensation for service-related tinnitus. In addition to compensation payments, service-related hearing disorders cost the US Department of Veterans Affairs in terms of provision of hearing aids, hearing aid-related services, and clinical services at its 220 facilities nationwide. It is imperative that hearing conservation among military personnel and veterans be addressed. In this paper, we describe the rationale for and the development of a multimedia Hearing Loss Prevention Program aimed at preventing the progression of hearing loss among veterans associated with social, recreational, and nonmilitary occupati... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249476 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249475&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265250%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ohlin D PMID: 19265250 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249475 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249474&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265251%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Li H, Steyger PS Acoustic exposure to high intensity and/or prolonged noise causes temporary or permanent threshold shifts in auditory perception, reflected by reversible or irreversible damage in the cochlea. Aminoglycoside antibiotics, used for treating or preventing life-threatening bacterial infections, also induce cytotoxicity in the cochlea. Combined noise and aminoglycoside exposure, particularly in neonatal intensive care units, can lead to auditory threshold shifts greater than simple summation of the two insults. The synergistic toxicity of acoustic exposure and aminoglycoside antibiotics is not limited to simultaneous exposures. Prior acoustic insult which does not result in permanent threshold shifts potentiates aminoglycoside ototoxicity. In addition, exposure to ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249474 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249473&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265252%26dopt%3DAbstract This article provides an overview of the methods of counseling used with PATM and provides details concerning the overarching principles of collaborative adult learning that are believed to be most important in facilitating self-management by patients who complain of tinnitus. PMID: 19265252 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249473 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249473 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249472&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265253%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chesky K, Pair M, Lanford S, Yoshimura E The effectiveness of a hearing loss prevention program within a college may be dependent on attitudes among students majoring in music. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of music majors toward noise and to compare them to students not majoring in music. Participants ( N = 467) filled out a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward noise in youth culture and attitudes toward influencing their sound environment. Results showed that students majoring in music have a healthier attitude toward sound compared to students not majoring in music. Findings also showed that music majors are more aware and attentive to noise in general, likely to perceive sound that may be risky to hearing as something negative, and are ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249472 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249471&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265254%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen H, Huang M, Wei J The purposes of the study were to investigate children's knowledge about hearing conservation, the types of protective behaviors they would adopt in noise, the agreement between children's knowledge and intended behaviors in hearing protection, and reasons why they would not take any protective action in noise. A questionnaire was administered to 479 fourth and fifth graders in their school classrooms. Results indicated that children scored low (62.0%) on this hearing conservation questionnaire. They scored the highest in strategies of hearing protection (69.9%), followed by their knowledge in general hearing health (62.6%) and noise hazards (49.6%). Only 55% of children knew that hearing protective devices could protect them against noise. Approximately... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249471 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249470&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265255%26dopt%3DAbstract This study was undertaken to research whether certified audiometric technicians without practical hands-on training could reliably use insert earphones when compared to a clinically experienced audiologist. Hearing thresholds were obtained on 60 human ears by six certified audiometric technicians using insert earphones for the first time. Technician-acquired audiometric thresholds were compared to thresholds obtained under the same conditions by a clinical audiologist experienced in the use of the insert earphones. Statistical analyses of audiometric thresholds were performed to investigate the relationships between audiometric threshold values at each frequency obtained by certified technicians vs. the audiologist. These relationships were examined for the group as a whole as well as when... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249470 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249470 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249469&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19265256%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Casali JG, Ahroon WA, Lancaster JA Operational hearing protection and maintenance of audibility of signals and speech are considered force multipliers in military operations, increasing Soldier survivability and lethality. The in-field research described in this paper was conducted to examine operational performance effects of three different hearing enhancement protection systems (HEPS) that are intended to provide both protection and audibility. The experiment utilized operationally-defined measures in full-scale, simulated combat scenarios with Army ROTC Cadet Soldiers as subjects. The Soldiers' operational performance was evaluated in two missions: reconnaissance and raid (attack on enemy camp). Both missions had substantial hearing requirements, including communications, ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249469 Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2249469 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2047744&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19075456%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Twardella D, Wellhoefer A, Brix J, Fromme H While no legal rules or regulations exist in Germany, voluntary measures were introduced to achieve a reduction of sound pressure levels in discotheques to levels below 100 dB(A). To evaluate the current levels in Bavarian discotheques and to find out whether these voluntary measures ensured compliance with the recommended limits, sound pressure levels were measured in 20 Bavarian discotheques between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. With respect to the equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level for each 30-minute period (L Aeq,30min ), only 4/20 discotheques remained below the limit of 100 dB(A) in all time periods. Ten discotheques had sound pressure levels below 100 dB(A) for the total measurement period (L Aeq,180min ). None of the ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2047744 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2047744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2047743&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19075457%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen H, Huang M, Wei J The purposes of the study were to investigate children's knowledge about hearing conservation, the types of protective behaviors they would adopt towards noise, the agreement between children's knowledge and intended behaviors in hearing protection, and reasons why they would not take any protective action against noise. A questionnaire was administered to 479 4 th and 5 th graders in their school classrooms. Results indicated that children scored low (62.01%) on this hearing conservation questionnaire. They scored the highest in strategies of hearing protection (69.89%), followed by their knowledge in general hearing health (62.56%) and noise hazards (49.65%). Only 55% of the children knew that hearing protective devices could protect them against noise... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2047743 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2047743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2047742&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19075458%26dopt%3DAbstract Conclusion: Noise levels measured in the ward and in the ICU were high, significantly exceeding the highest permitted values for hospitals. The latter was more obviously recorded in the ICU. PMID: 19075458 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2047742 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2047742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2018192&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19052438%26dopt%3DAbstract Discussion: The causes of this association as well as its implications in the prevention of work accidents are discussed. PMID: 19052438 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2018192 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2018192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2018191&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19052439%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigated hearing and auditory processing in seven individuals with a history of exposure to industrial solvents. A battery of audiological tests was administered to all subjects: pure tone, speech, and impedance audiometry, otoacoustic emissions tests, auditory brainstem responses, middle latency responses, as well as the SCAN-A and R-SPIN tests with low predictability sentence lists. All individuals in this study exhibited findings consistent with retrocochlear and/or central abnormality. Two of the seven subjects in this study had normal pure tone thresholds at all frequencies bilaterally, yet showed abnormal retrocochlear/central results on one or more tests. The auditory test battery approach used in this study appears to be valuable in evaluating the pathological condit... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2018191 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2018191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2018190&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19052440%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Davis RR The purpose of the present article is to review comfort studies on hearing protector devices. Comfort is probably the most important dimension for long-term worker acceptance and effective wear of hearing protectors in noise. A short digression has been made to introduce comfort work from the textile and clothing industries where models of comfort have been attempted and comfort research is much more sophisticated. Finally, presented are some recent efforts by NIOSH to examine issues of hearing protector comfort in greater detail. These efforts include a field study of a semi-custom earplug hearing protector. PMID: 19052440 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2018190 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2018190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2018189&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D19052441%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mahendra Prashanth KV, Sridhar V A corollary to industrialization and urbanization is a significant increase in noise levels. In many industrial settings, the noise levels are such that they are potential health hazards. There are many studies which suggest that prolonged exposures to high noise levels have a negative impact on various aspects of human physiology. However, not much work has been conducted in studying the effects of various noise frequencies in the industrial environment. This paper has made an attempt to identify various noise frequency components to which the workers of six major industries in Mysore (Karnataka State, India) are being exposed, and their effects on the physical, physiological, and psychological systems of the working community with respect to ... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2018189 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 2018189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551998&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18580037%26dopt%3DAbstract Conclusions: These findings indicate that hearing problems are frequent among men who work in the engine rooms on ships. Long-term cumulative effects of employment were not shown. PMID: 18580037 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551998 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1551998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551997&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18580038%26dopt%3DAbstract Conclusion: Sleep undisturbed by noise has a remarkably high monetary value for people, which should be considered in political decision-making. PMID: 18580038 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551997 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1551997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551996&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18580039%26dopt%3DAbstract Conclusions: The workers in the rice mills are exposed to high noise, which will have detrimental effect on their health. Apart from undertaking appropriate noise control measures, preventive maintenance of machines needs to be given due importance in all the rice mills. PMID: 18580039 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551996 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1551996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1232093&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18270402%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rawool VW, Colligon-Wayne LA The purpose of this study was to evaluate the auditory life styles and beliefs of college students with reference to exposure to loud sounds in the context of the health belief model. A survey was administered to 238 (40 men, 198 women) students in the USA. Results suggest that 44% of the students use noisy equipment without ear protection and 29% (69/238) of the students work in noisy environments. Of the 69 who worked in noisy surroundings, only ten reported wearing hearing protection devices although 50 (72.46%) reported tinnitus. The use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) was associated with previous experience with hearing loss and tinnitus. Although 75% of the students were aware that exposure to loud sounds could cause hearing loss, 50% of... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1232093 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1232093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1232092&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18270403%26dopt%3DAbstract This study highlights the need for noise monitoring and control measures inside hospital areas. PMID: 18270403 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1232092 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1232092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1232091&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18270404%26dopt%3DAbstract Conclusions: The subject of hearing protection in orchestral musicians should be investigated with a multidimensional approach which considers the following in equal measure: legal regulations, the requirements and limits of the music sector and the individual characteristics of the musicians involved. PMID: 18270404 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Noise and Health) Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1232091 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1232091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1232090&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18270405%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Babisch W Studies on the association between community noise and cardiovascular risk were subjected to a meta-analysis for deriving a common dose-effect curve. Peer-reviewed articles, objective assessment of exposure and outcome as well as control for confounding and multiple exposure categories were all necessary inclusion criteria. A distinction was made between descriptive (cross-sectional) and analytical (case-control, cohort) studies. Meta-analyses were carried out for two descriptive and five analytical studies for calculating a pooled dose-effect curve for the association between road traffic noise levels and the risk of myocardial infarction. No increase in risk was found below 60 dB(A) for the average A-weighted sound pressure levels during the day. An increase in ris... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1232090 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1232090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1104519&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18087114%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Carmichel EL, Harris FP, Story BH The effects of electronic hearing protector devices (HPDs) on localization and response time (RT) to stimuli were assessed at six locations in the horizontal plane. The stimuli included a firearm loading, telephone ringing and .5-kHz and 4-kHz tonebursts presented during continuous traffic noise. Eight normally hearing adult listeners were evaluated under two conditions: (a) ears unoccluded; (b) ears occluded with one of three amplitude-sensitive sound transmission HPDs. All HPDs were found to affect localization, and performance was dependent on stimuli and location. Response time (RT) was less in the unoccluded condition than for any of the HPD conditions for the broadband stimuli. In the HPD conditions, RT to incorrect responses was signifi... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1104519 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1104519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1104518&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18087115%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schutte M, Sandrock S, Griefahn B The Noise Sensitivity Questionnaire (NoiSeQ) aims at the measurement of global noise sensitivity as well as the sensitivity for five domains of everyday life namely 'Leisure', 'Work', 'Habitation', 'Communication' and 'Sleep'. The present investigation examined the factorial validity of the NoiSeQ to determine whether the items of the NoiSeQ cover the different factors as assumed. The analysis was done using the method of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The linear structural model took into consideration only the scales of the NoiSeQ for which reliability could be demonstrated, namely, 'Sleep', 'Communication', 'Habitation' and 'Work'. The linear structural model presumed that each of the 28 items has a relation only to one corresponding f... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1104518 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1104518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1104517&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18087116%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Abel SM, Tsang S, Boyne S Studies have demonstrated that conventional hearing protectors interfere with sound localization. This research examines possible benefits from advanced communications devices. Horizontal plane sound localization was compared in normal-hearing males with the ears unoccluded and fitted with Peltor H10A passive attenuation earmuffs, Racal Slimgard II communications muffs in active noise reduction (ANR) and talk-through-circuitry (TTC) modes and Nacre QUIETPRO TM communications earplugs in off (passive attenuation) and push-to-talk (PTT) modes. Localization was assessed using an array of eight loudspeakers, two in each spatial quadrant. The stimulus was 75 dB SPL, 300-ms broadband noise. One block of 120 forced-choice loudspeaker identification trials wa... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1104517 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1104517 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1041957&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18025756%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bohlin MC, Erlandsson SI Adolescents in Western society often expose themselves to high levels of sound in gyms, rock concerts, discotheques etc. As these behaviours are as threatening to young people's health as more traditional risk behaviours are, our aim in the present study was to analyze the relationship between self-exposure to noise, risk behaviours and risk judgements among 310 Swedish adolescents aged 15-20 (167 men; 143 women). Adolescents' behaviour in different traditional risk situations correlated with behaviour in noisy environments, while judgements about traditional risks correlated with judgements regarding noise exposure. It is an interesting finding that although young women judge risk situations as generally more dangerous than young men do, they neverthe... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1041957 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1041957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1041956&cid=s_36572_161_f&fid=36572&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D18025757%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Klatte M, Meis M, Sukowski H, Schick A The effects of background noise of moderate intensity on short-term storage and processing of verbal information were analyzed in 6 to 8 year old children. In line with adult studies on "irrelevant sound effect" (ISE), serial recall of visually presented digits was severely disrupted by background speech that the children did not understand. Train noises of equal Intensity however, had no effect. Similar results were demonstrated with tasks requiring storage and processing of heard information. Memory for nonwords, execution of oral instructions and categorizing speech sounds were significantly disrupted by irrelevant speech. The affected functions play a fundamental role in the acquisition of spoken and written language. Implications con... Noise and Health journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1041956 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1041956