An Observed Relationship Between Vestibular Function and Auditory Thresholds in Aircraft-Maintenance Workers

Guest, Maya; Boggess, May; DʼEste, Catherine; Attia, John; Brown, Anthony M.

doi:10.1097/jom.0b013e318204fa7f

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…From a more theoretical standpoint, the current findings also support the mounting evidence of vestibular damage and balance disorder potentiated by NIHL (Juntunen et al, 1987; Guest et al, 2011; Kumar et al, 2010; Sazgar et al, 2006; Golz et al, 2001; Shupak et al, 1994; Manabe et al, 1995; Pyykkö et al, 1989; Oosterveld et al, 1982; McElhinney et al, 1998; Van der Laan 2001; Termoz & Prince, 2005; Gerson, Jarjoura, & McCord, 1989). This is not to minimize the potential contribution of hearing loss in treating information that may hinder mobility (Viljanen et al, 2009a, 2009b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Sensory deficits (visual and auditory) are recognized as risk factors for falls among older adults (Keller, Morton, Thomas, & Potter, 1999; Kulmala et al, 2009; Viljanen et al, 2009a). Permanent vestibular dysfunction interfering with the maintenance of balance (control and body sway; Juntunen et al, 1987) would be the most likely causative factor (Golz et al, 2001; Guest, Boggess, D’Este, Attia, & Brown, 2011; Kumar, Vivarthini, & Bhat, 2010; Manabe, Kurokawa, Saito, & Saito, 1995; Oosterveld, Polman, & Schoonheyt, 1982; Pyykkö, Aalto, & Ylikoski, 1989; Sazgar, Dortaj, Akrami, Akrami, & Karimi Yazdi, 2006; Shupak et al, 1994). According to Sazgar et al (2006), damage to the vestibular system, especially to the saccule, is a potential problem with cochlear-damaging factors because saccule receptors are coupled physically with the auditory receptors; that is, they share the membranous labyrinth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Falls Risk and Hospitalization among Retired Workers with Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

et al. 2013

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This study sought to ascertain whether occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) increased the risk of falls requiring hospitalization among retired workers. The study population consisted of males (age ≥ 65) with an average occupational noise exposure of 30.6 years and whose mean bilateral hearing loss was 42.2 dB HL at 3, 4, and 6 kHz. Seventy-two retired workers admitted to hospitals after a fall were matched with 216 controls from the same industrial sectors. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the risk (odds ratio; [OR]) of falls leading to hospitalization by NIHL categories. Results showed a relationship between severe NIHL (≥ 52.5 dB HL) and the occurrence of a fall (OR: 1.97, CI95%: 1.001-3.876). Reducing falls among seniors fosters the maintenance of their autonomy. There is a definite need to acquire knowledge about harmful effects of occupational noise to support the prevention of NIHL and ensure healthier workplaces.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Falls Risk and Hospitalization among Retired Workers with Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

et al. 2013

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“…Also, Thakur et al (2004) found that the continuous exposure to the relatively high level of noise in the surroundings of an airport is likely to affect the central pathway of the auditory system. This was also confirmed by others (Chen et al, 1992; Guest et al, 2011) where a damage of both peripheral cochlear organs and the central auditory pathway by high-frequency aircraft noise exposure was reported. According to the Egyptian Environmental Law (1994), working hours should be reduced to half for every 5 dB above the permissible limit which is 90 dB.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Some health effects of aircraft noise with special reference to shift work

et al. 2014

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Assessment of noise effects were carried out in four working sites at the airport besides control sites. The average noise level in the exposure sites was 106.5 dB compared with 54 dB at the control sites. The study comprised a group of 200 male workers exposed to aircraft noise and 110 male workers not exposed to noise as control group. All workers had full general medical examination after filling specially formulated questionnaire. Hearing impairment, raised blood pressure, headaches, disturbed sleep, and symptoms of anxiety were more prominent among the exposed workers than the control. Symptoms of upper respiratory tract were reported among night shifters of both groups with high tendency for smoking. Thus, night-shift workers at CIA work under more than one stressor. Hypertension and smoking might act as intermediate factors on the causal pathway of complaints, making aircraft noise and night shift acting as two synergistic stressors. Airport workers are in need for aggressive hearing conservation programs. Organization of the working hours schedule is mandatory to avoid excessive noise exposure.

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“…Agrawal and colleagues (Agrawal et al 2009(Agrawal et al , 2013 reported that 35% of adults older than 40 yr had evidence of postural instability and that balance dysfunction increased with age so that by 80 yr, 85% of adults reported balance problems. Although the causes of balance dysfunction are complex and multifactorial, multiple studies suggest there may be a linkage between hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction in humans (Akin et al 2012;Guest et al 2011;Heitz et al 2019;Lin and Ferrucci 2012;Manabe et al 1995;Oosterveld et al 1982;Shupak et al 1994;Yilmaz et al 2018;Ylikoski and Ylikoski 1994;Ylikoski et al 1988;Zuniga et al 2012). Noise exposure as a risk factor for vestibular loss has obvious public health implications, but there is a lack of evidence for a causal connection between noise exposure and vestibular loss.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intense noise exposure alters peripheral vestibular structures and physiology

Stewart

Bauer

Kanicki

et al. 2020

Journal of Neurophysiology

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The otolith organs play a critical role in detecting linear acceleration and gravity to control posture and balance. Some afferents that innervate these structures can be activated by sound and are at risk for noise overstimulation. A previous report demonstrated that noise exposure can abolish vestibular short-latency evoked potential (VsEP) responses and damage calyceal terminals. However, the stimuli that were used to elicit responses were weaker than those established in previous studies and may have been insufficient to elicit VsEP responses in noise-exposed animals. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of an established noise exposure paradigm on VsEP responses using large head-jerk stimuli to determine if noise induces a stimulus threshold shift and/or if large head-jerks are capable of evoking VsEP responses in noise-exposed rats. An additional goal is to relate these measurements to the number of calyceal terminals and hair cells present in noise-exposed vs. non-noise-exposed tissue. Exposure to intense continuous noise significantly reduced VsEP responses to large stimuli and abolished VsEP responses to small stimuli. This finding confirms that while measurable VsEP responses can be elicited from noise-lesioned rat sacculi, larger head-jerk stimuli are required, suggesting a shift in the minimum stimulus necessary to evoke the VsEP. Additionally, a reduction in labeled calyx-only afferent terminals was observed without a concomitant reduction in the overall number of calyces or hair cells. This finding supports a critical role of calretinin-expressing calyceal-only afferents in the generation of a VsEP response. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study identifies a change in the minimum stimulus necessary to evoke vestibular short-latency evoked potential (VsEP) responses after noise-induced damage to the vestibular periphery and reduced numbers of calretinin-labeled calyx-only afferent terminals in the striolar region of the sacculus. These data suggest that a single intense noise exposure may impact synaptic function in calyx-only terminals in the striolar region of the sacculus. Reduced calretinin immunolabeling may provide insight into the mechanism underlying noise-induced changes in VsEP responses.

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An Observed Relationship Between Vestibular Function and Auditory Thresholds in Aircraft-Maintenance Workers

Abstract: This study has demonstrated a relationship between low-frequency hearing loss, vestibular dysfunction, anxiety, and depression in an occupational population.

Cited by 11 publications

References 24 publications

Falls Risk and Hospitalization among Retired Workers with Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Falls Risk and Hospitalization among Retired Workers with Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Some health effects of aircraft noise with special reference to shift work

Intense noise exposure alters peripheral vestibular structures and physiology

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