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Prevalence of hearing loss and influencing factors among workers in Wuhan, China

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Abstract

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss and influencing factors among workers in automobile manufacturing industry in Wuhan, China. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of 2017 through 2019 data from survey of the key occupational diseases on 17,176 workers in automobile manufacturing industry, Wuhan, China. Hearing loss was defined as a pure tone mean of 25 dB or higher in either ear at 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz for speech frequency and at 3, 4, and 6 kHz for high frequency. Among the 17,176 workers, more than a quarter of participants had high frequency hearing loss, and 6.41% had speech frequency hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss was higher among participants with diabetes mellitus and current smoking, temporary tinnitus, and sudden change in hearing. Compared with the controls, age (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.08–1.09), male (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.21–1.63), occupational noise exposure (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.08–1.30), having temporary tinnitus (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.08–1.33), and having sudden change in hearing (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.20–2.08) were associated with higher prevalence of high frequency hearing loss; meanwhile, age (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.08–1.09), male (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.11–1.71), having family history of hearing loss (OR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.35–5.97), and having sudden change in hearing (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.80–3.70) were associated with higher prevalence of speech frequency hearing loss. No additive and multiplicative interaction was found between occupational noise and these factors for hearing loss. Hearing loss directly affects 25% of workers in automobile manufacturing industry in Wuhan. Measures should be implemented for the control of occupational noise and other factors simultaneously in the workplace.

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Data availability

Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and with permission.

Abbreviations

NIHL:

Noise-induced hearing loss

WHO:

World Health Organization

NHIS:

National Health Interview Survey

AFFH:

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting

SD:

Standard deviation

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

RERI:

Relative excess risk due to interaction

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Funding

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81903291) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2019kfyXJJS032). The funder did not play any role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; nor in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    Wenzhen Li, Zhiya Zhao & Zuxun Lu

  2. Wuhan Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Wuhan, 430015, Hubei, China

    Zhenlong Chen & Guilin Yi

  3. Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Dongming Wang

  4. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Dongming Wang

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  1. Wenzhen Li
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Contributions

Wenzhen Li and Dongming Wang performed the topic design and literature search, and Wenzhen Li analyze data and draft the manuscript. Zhenlong Chen and Guilin Yi contributed to collect data. Zhiya Zhao contributed to the collation. Dongming Wang and Zuxun Lu contributed to the revision of manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dongming Wang.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Tongji Medical College Institutional Review Board ([2019] IEC (S342)), and all participants provided written informed consent.

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Not applicable.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Li, W., Zhao, Z., Chen, Z. et al. Prevalence of hearing loss and influencing factors among workers in Wuhan, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 31511–31519 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13053-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13053-y

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