Navid Noorali Shah,^a Mirza Nisar H.Baig,^a S R Vaidya^b

^aAssociate Professor, Department of Physiology, Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India, ^b Professor, Department of Physiology, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Deemed University, Sangli, Maharashtra, India

Address for correspondence Dr. Navid Noorali Shah, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Email: drnavid23@gmail.com

Background : In developing countries people suffer more from noise induced hearing loss. Occupational noise produces hearing loss which is 100 % preventable by using safety measures. Considering the paucity of studies, a cross sectional comparative study was conducted among 256 textile industrial workers.

Materials and Methods : A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the baseline characteristics of the workers. Pure tone audiometry was performed on all the workers to assess the degree of hearing loss.

Results: : A significant association was observed between the duration of exposure and hearing loss in left ear (X2 =22.39, P<0.01) and in right ear (X2=30.31, P<0.01) among workers exposed to low level of noise (<80dB) whereas significant association between the duration of exposure with hearing loss was observed only in left ear (X2 =18.12, P<0.01) among workers exposed to high level of noise.

Conclusion: Association between the hearing loss and duration of exposure was significant in both the ears among workers exposed to low level of noise(<80dB) and only in the left ear among workers exposed to high level of noise.

Key words:: Developing countries, textile industry, Pure tone Audiometry, Noise induced hearing Loss.