Risk Factors of Hearing Loss Among Thai Naval Officers on Coastal Patrol Boats (original) (raw)
Hearing loss in Thai naval officers of coastal patrol crafts
Asia-Pacific journal of public health / Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, 2014
This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the prevalence of hearing loss and its risk factors among Thai naval officers. The subjects consisted of 149 males who were asked to complete a questionnaire. Audiometric threshold testing was performed at the audiometric frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz. The noise levels and the organic solvent concentrations in the working environment were measured on a common type of gun boat. The findings revealed that 39.6% of naval officers had hearing loss. The noise level (LAeq) was 100.6 dB in the engine room. The organic solvent concentrations were less than the occupational exposure limit for organic solvents. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated 2 factors were significantly associated with hearing loss. They were age and service experience. The results suggest that the Thai navy should develop a hearing conservation program for naval officers on coastal patrol crafts.
Risk Factors of Hearing Loss Among Thai Naval Divers
Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2019
This study aimed to clarify the prevalence of hearing loss and its risk factors among Thai naval divers. The participants were 263 military divers in the Royal Thai Navy, aged 22 to 55 years. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire and to undergo the examinations on hearing acuity and physical measurement. The average diving year was 16.1 years. The participants dived 2.1 times a week until to 132.3 fsw (4-5 ata) in average. Sixty-one percent of them had hearing loss. In order to determine the diving exposure dose for the participants, total diving depth was calculated from diving years, diving times a week and maximal diving depth. Multiple linear regression analysis showed the hearing level associated with total diving depth and the experience of no-decompression diving. This result suggests that the Royal Thai Navy should manage diving conditions for conserving hearing acuity of Thai naval divers.
Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024
Introduction: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the second most common form of sensorineural hearing loss. It is one of the occupational health concerns worldwide with a prevalence rate of 16%. In Malaysia, there is an increasing trend of occupational NIHL prevalence encompassing agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and construction sectors. The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) personnel, particularly the marine technicians of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), have a heightened risk of developing NIHL due to prolonged exposure to hazardous noise levels onboard the military vessels. Previous studies involving MAF participants recorded a prevalence rate of approximately 22%. However, limited information is available regarding occupational NIHL among the RMN marine technicians. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational NIHL and its associated factors among marine technicians working on the RMN vessels. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 127 randomly selected participants among marine technicians working on RMN vessels stationed at the Lumut Naval Base, Perak, Malaysia. The research instruments were questionnaires that contained information about sociodemographic, socioeconomic, occupational characteristics, and lifestyle behaviours, followed by a pure tone audiometric (PTA) assessment. Diagnosis of NIHL was made when the hearing threshold was ≥25 dB at 3 kHz to 6 kHz, with a recovery at 8 kHz on PTA. Results: The participants' median age was 32 years (interquartile range=27-37 years). The prevalence of occupational NIHL was 29.9% (95% CI=22.1-38.7). Factors associated with occupational NIHL on unadjusted regression analysis include age >30 years (OR=2.56, p=0.0185), middle household income (OR=2.76, p=0.0227), military rank especially the warrant officer (OR=7.12, p=0.0038), and length of service ≥15 years (OR=2.40, p=0.0246). After adjusting for ethnicity, smoking status, types of vessels, and participation in noise-related leisure activities, middle household income (OR=3.15, 95% CI=1.29-7.87, p=0.0121) and warrant officer (OR=4.38, 95% CI=1.08-20.52, p=0.0384) remained as significant predictors for occupational NIHL in this population. Conclusion: In this study, the marine technicians working on board the RMN vessels had a higher prevalence of occupational NIHL compared to the prevalence among other MAF personnel as well as the global data. In addition, the probabilities of having occupational NIHL were significantly higher for middle-income technicians and those who ranked as warrant officers. These findings highlight the need for routine audiometric assessment and adoption of hearing conservation initiatives for individuals at high risk within this occupational cohort.