Predicting Hearing Loss in Noise-Exposed Petrochemical Workers: Influencing Factors and a Nomogram Model

The study aimed to develop a predictive nomogram capable of estimating individual risk within noise-exposed petrochemical workers. A total of 1700 of noise-exposed petrochemical workers from a certain hospital in Lanzhou between March 1 to July 8, 2024, was surveyed for an occupational exposure and pure tone hearing tests. The collected data were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a testing set (30%). Logistic regression analyses were conducted on the training set to identify the influencing factors of hearing loss, and a nomogram was created to predict the risk of hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed petrochemical workers was 21.71%. Independent influencing factors included male sex ( OR = 2.552, 95% CI : 1.444–4.510), increasing age ( OR = 1.067, 95% CI : 1.040–1.095), earphone use ( OR = 0.652, 95% CI : 0.457–0.932), tinnitus ( OR = 2.152, 95% CI : 1.596–2.902), and a family history of hearing loss ( OR = 1.420, 95% CI : 1.007–2.003). The AUC area of the nomogram in the training set was 0.743 (95% CI : 0.710–0.776). Male sex, older age, tinnitus, and a family history of hearing loss were associated with an increased risk of hearing loss, whereas earphone use appeared to be a protective factor in this population. The developed nomogram demonstrated good predictive accuracy and may serve as a practical tool for assessing the risk of hearing loss among noise-exposed petrochemical workers.