Assessing Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss among Bakers in Tehran

Introduction: Occupational hearing loss is considered as one of the most important occupational diseases that affects many people every year. So far, many studies have been conducted in this field in various industries, but the issue of occupational hearing loss among bakers has not been considered and the main goal. This study investigates occupational noise in bakeries and possible hearing loss in this occupation. It should be noted that this study was conducted in Tehran. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 12 bakeries with a variety of 4 types of traditional bread were selected in the city of Tehran and 51 workers working in these bakeries were selected. The method of measuring noise in the workplace was using a regular network method and a device with a Svantek analyzer and in order to investigate possible hearing loss, occupational medicine records and direct evaluation of audiometric results were used. Results: Considering the working hours of more than 40 hours per week and reducing the exposure standard to 82 dB , the results showed that in all 12 bakeries, the exposure equivalent level varies between 69 and 79 dB, which is lower than the standard and Therefore, none of the 51 bakery workers were exposed to noise above the permissible limit. Despite this level of exposure, the results of audiometry showed that the prevalence of hearing loss was 16%. Also, there was a significant relationship between age, work experience and hearing loss was obtained. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the equivalent level of exposure in bakeries is much lower than the standard exposure level, but the people working in the bakery suffer from hearing loss despite not being exposed to noise exceeding the standard limit and therefore, it should be reduced hearing in this job, more studies should be done and other possible factors such as heat stress that can have an indirect effect on the hearing system should be given more attention.