Pre-employment hearing threshold levels of 59,601 Australian male coal miners compared to an otologically normal international male population (ISO7029:2019)
Abstract
Objective: This study compared the pre-employment median hearing threshold level (HTL) distribution from a population of coal miners from New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to an otologically normal, age-matched population described by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) ISO 7029:2019, to determine any differences. Design: This was an observational, retrospective, repeated cross-sectional study. Study sample: De-identified audiometric records of 59,601 male employees entering NSW coal mining in three representative five-year periods between 1991 and 2015 were utilised. Results: The median HTL deviation of the mining population was statistically significantly different (p < 0.05) from the ISO population, for almost all analyses. Overall, the mining population cohorts have higher (worse) median HTLs compared to the ISO population. The greatest difference occurs at 4 kHz in older age groups, likely indicating noise-induced hearing loss. Conclusion: These findings indicate that some NSW coal mine workers commence their careers with evidence of pre-existing hearing loss (HL), in an industry with excessive noise exposures. These results provide Australian mining and other noisy industries with evidence to support a review of hearing conservation strategies to improve mitigation of hearing loss across the working lifespan.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2023
Volume
62
Issue
8
PubMed ID
35801823
Publication Title
International Journal of Audiology
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
45209
Funders
University of Newcastle Australia
Copyright
subscription content
First Page
729
Last Page
737
Comments
Liebenberg, A., Nie, V. M., Brichta, A. M., Ahmadi, S., & James, C. L. (2023). Pre-employment hearing threshold levels of 59,601 Australian male coal miners compared to an otologically normal international male population (ISO7029:2019). International Journal of Audiology, 62(8), 729-737. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2022.2088625