An observational study on the prevalence of hearing loss among construction workers in South Chennai

Introduction: The construction industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. Noise levels are considered hazardous when they reach 85 decibels or higher. Hearing loss adversely affects both the quality of life and the risk of damage. The study's primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss among construction workers, and the secondary objective was to assess the factors associated with hearing loss among construction workers in the urban area of Chennai. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 100 construction workers who were chosen by simple random sampling from February to July 2024. A comprehensive Ear Nose Throat and otoscopic examination were done. Using Pure Tone Audiometry, the degree and type of hearing loss were assessed. Problems, if any, were identified and treated accordingly. Data was input into a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. The data analysis tool utilized was SPSS version 21. Fischer’s exact test and the Chi-square test were used to determine the degree of association. p-values below 0.05 were regarded as significant. Results: The mean age was 36 ± 10 years. Most of them n=73 (73%) were literate. The mean exposure was 15 ± 8 years. Most of the study population n=68 (68%) did not use any PPE. Only 21 of them (21%) had symptoms of earache, hard of hearing, or tinnitus. Almost 79 of them (79%) had no such symptoms. Almost 84 participants (84%) had normal ear examinations. Out of the 11 who complained of being hard of hearing, 2 were diagnosed with unilateral conductive hearing loss, and 9 were diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The majority who used PPE were aged <30 years n=15 (46.9%), among them about n=29 (90.6%) were literate and 93.8% were employed for <20 years in construction sites. Factors like age, education, and years of occupation were found to be associated with PPE use among the study population. Factors like age, educational status, years of occupation, and use of PPE were found to be significantly associated with hearing loss by Fischer’s exact test. Conclusion: Factors contributing to hearing loss among construction workers are age, education, years of exposure, and PPE use. Periodical ear checkups and use of PPE like ear plugs must be insisted among people working in noisy environment.