Chemical exposure as a risk factor for hearing loss: implications for occupational health.
Authors
Morata T
Source
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 8-13, 2004, Atlanta, Georgia. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2004 May; :27
The occupational health community is giving increasing attention to the combined effects of occupational exposure to noise and other factors on hearing. In particular, the interaction between noise and chemicals such as toluene, styrene, and carbon monoxide, poses a new challenge to industrial hygienists and hearing conservationists. NIOSH has conducted epidemiological studies on the effects of solvents on hearing, alone or in combination with noise. In all of the investigations, solvents were found to affect the hearing of workers. In light of the many chemicals that are used in the work place and evidence that they may affect hearing, numerous populations are being underserved with regard to the prevention of hearing loss. Permissible exposure levels for chemicals do not account for the chemicals' effects on hearing loss. Thus, workers who are exposed to noise levels below 85-dBA time-weighted average who are not required to be in included hearing conservation programs may still be at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to these chemicals. Furthermore, methods currently used in hearing conservation (e.g., hearing protectors and noise control) may be ineffective, or even inappropriate, for workers exposed to both chemicals and noise. This presentation will review the current knowledge of chemical ototoxicity and the NIOSH strategy for partnering with industry, academia, and professional organizations interested in preventing occupational hearing loss. Key issues to be addressed in this strategy include: rationale and proposal of consensus list for priority chemicals, methods for evaluating exposures of concern for workers and appropriate biomarkers, methods for assessing auditory effects of chemicals, inclusion criteria in prevention programs and appropriate components of such programs, and finally, the need for information dissemination.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.