Daily Exposure Monitoring Intervention to Prevent Hearing Loss

描述(由申请人提供)：噪声引起的听力损失(NIHL)仍然是最常见的职业病之一，即使在符合OSHA标准的工作场所也是如此。预防职业性听力损失是国家职业研究议程(NORA)的重中之重。这项建议将继续进行每日噪音暴露监测(DEMON)研究，这是一项利用创新技术(QuietDose)连续记录听力保护器内噪音暴露水平以预防NIHL的独特干预研究。在研究的第一阶段，已经招募了干预对象和对照组，并定期下载噪声暴露。DEMON研究的第二阶段将继续跟踪这一独特的队列，以确定干预的有效性(在强制和自愿使用环境下)，更好地了解噪声暴露和听力损失(包括脉冲性噪声的作用)之间的剂量反应关系，并将听力保护随时间的有效衰减与在单一时间点进行的“适合性测试”进行比较。 与公共健康相关：这项研究研究了一种创新技术，它可以克服有效预防噪声性听力损失的关键障碍，包括评估工作人员受到的真实噪声暴露的问题，(如何评估听力保护器的实际“适合性”和性能)，了解噪声暴露和听力损失之间的损害风险关系(包括脉冲噪声暴露的影响)，以及评估预防听力损失的干预措施的有效性的问题。此外，它将利用一个工人队列的独特机会，其真正的职业噪音暴露可以在个人层面上确定，以探索噪音对听力损失的延迟影响的关键问题。这项研究的结果可能对听力保护具有重大的研究实践(R2P)意义，为预防噪声性听力损失创造重要的新机会。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) continues to be one of the most common occupational disorders, even in OSHA compliant workplaces. Prevention of occupational hearing loss is a top priority of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). This proposal is to continue the Daily Exposure Monitoring of Noise (DEMON) Study, a study of a unique intervention to prevent NIHL by use of an innovative technology (QuietDose) that records noise exposure levels inside of hearing protection on a continuous basis. In the first phase of the study, intervention subjects and controls have been recruited and regular downloading of noise exposures is occurring. The second phase of the DEMON study will continue to follow this unique cohort in order to determine the effectiveness of the intervention (in both a mandatory and voluntary use setting), better understand the dose response relationship between noise exposure and hearing loss (including the role of impulsive noise) and also compare the effective attenuation of hearing protection over time with "fit tests" done at a single point in time. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research studies an innovative technology that may overcome critical barriers to the effective prevention of noise induced hearing loss including the problem of assessing the true noise exposures that workers are receiving, (how to assess the actual "fit" and performance of hearing protectors), understanding the damage risk relationship between noise exposure and hearing loss, (including the impact of impulsive noise exposures), and the problem of assessing the effectiveness of interventions to prevent hearing loss. In addition, it will use the unique opportunity of a worker cohort whose true occupational noise exposure can be determined on an individual level to explore the critical questions of delayed effects of noise on hearing loss. The results of this study could have major research to practice (r2p) implications for hearing conservation, creating important new opportunities for the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss.