Evaluation of noise exposure and risk of hearing impairment in employees using communication headsets or headphones

Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska, Małgorzata; Zaborowski, Kamil; Zamojska-Daniszewska, Małgorzata; Dudarewicz, Adam; Rutkowska-Kaczmarek, Paulina

doi:10.13075/mp.5893.00736

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nowadays in Poland, the evaluation of noise exposure from communication headsets is not routinely performed although such devices are widely used in many work environments. Only a few studies have been conducted so far, and they have been mainly focused on call center operators [8,27]. To the best of the authors' knowledge, not only in Poland but also in other countries, a relatively small number of studies have been conducted to date concerning the hearing status of employees using regularly communication headsets [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, simpler methods have also been proposed in some national standards such as the use of general purpose artificial ears and ear simulators in conjunction with a single number or one-third-octave band procedure to convert measurements to the equivalent diffuse or free field (AS/NZS 1269.1:2005, CSA Z107.56-18) [5,6]. Results from field studies indicate that, depending on the type of communication headsets, job tasks carried out and background noise levels, the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (SPLs) measured under headphones may vary from several dozen to >100 dB and could exceed regulatory limits in some cases, especially in noisy environments [7,8]. The wide range variability of the sound level produced by the communication headsets, the diversity of external acoustic conditions and the ability to generate some sudden, short-term, loud sounds (so-called acoustic shocks) in the headphones are associated with the risk of auditory and non-auditory effects of noise.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results from field studies indicate that, depending on the type of communication headsets, job tasks carried out and background noise levels, the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (SPLs) measured under headphones may vary from several dozen to >100 dB and could exceed regulatory limits in some cases, especially in noisy environments [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Noise exposure and hearing status among employees using communication headsets

Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska¹,

Dudarewicz²,

Zaborowski³

et al. 2022

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives:The objective of this study was to assess the hearing of employees using communication headsets with regard to their exposure to noise. Material and Methods: The study group comprised 213 employees, including 21 workers of the furniture industry, 15 court transcribers and 177 call center operators, aged 19-55 years, working with headsets for a period of up to 25 years. All the participants underwent a standard puretone audiometry, extended high-frequency audiometry (EHFA) as well as transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). Noise exposure from headsets was evaluated using the microphone in a real ear technique according to PN-EN ISO 11904-1:2008. Results: Personal daily noise exposure levels ranged 57-96 dB and exceeded 85 dB only in 1.4% of the call center operators. Forty-two percent of the participants had bilateral normal hearing in the standard frequency range of 250-8000 Hz, and 33% in the extended highfrequency range of 9-16 kHz. It was found that DPOAEs were present bilaterally in 59% of the participants. Reproducibility of TEOAE at >70% and signal-to-noise ratio at >6 was exhibited by 42% and 17% of them, respectively. The 3 subgroups of workers differed in age, gender, noise exposure and type of headsets in use. However, after adjusting for age and gender, significant differences between these subgroups in terms of hearing were mostly visible in EHFA. A significant impact of age, gender, daily noise exposure level and current job tenure on hearing tests results was also noted among the call center operators and the transcribers. The most pronounced were the effects of age and gender, whereas the impact of the daily noise exposure level was less evident. Conclusions: It seems that EHFA is useful for recognizing early signs of noise-induced hearing loss among communication headset users. However, further studies are needed before any firm conclusions concerning the risk of hearing impairment due to the use of such devices can be drawn.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Noise exposure and hearing status among employees using communication headsets

Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska¹,

Dudarewicz²,

Zaborowski³

et al. 2022

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Two different methods of measuring the parameters of the noise exposure of the workers using headsets, i.e., the artificial ear method and the miniature microphone method, were described by Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska et al [ 17 ]. Noise parameter tests were carried out on a group of 74 employees, including military aviation personnel, transcribers and call-centre operators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When headsets are used, the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level ranges from approx. 50 to over 100 dB [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Such a disparity between test results is due to the different measurement methods, headsets, measurement conditions (background noise making it necessary to increase the gain of an acoustic signal) or workplaces used in the testing process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noise Parameters of Headsets Designed for Communication Platforms

Kozłowski

2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Headsets are increasingly used in the working environment. In addition to being frequently used by call-centre staff, they are also becoming more popular with remote workers and teleconference participants. The aim of this work was to describe and evaluate the acoustic signal parameters reproduced by headsets and examine the factors affecting the values of these parameters. The tests were carried out in laboratory conditions using a manikin (head and torso simulator) designed for acoustic research. A total of 12 headset models were tested during the research. The results show that the A-weighted sound pressure level of the test signal reproduced by four (100% gain) and two (75% gain) headsets exceeded 85 dB. The highest equivalent A-weighted sound pressure level was 92.5 dB, which means that the headset should not be used for more than approx. 1 h and 25 min; otherwise, the criterion value will be exceeded. The analysis of the acoustic signal reproduced by the headsets confirmed that the A-weighted sound pressure level affected the gain level in the test signal reproduction path. This value also depended on the type of connector used, the computer from which the test signal was reproduced and the type of sound card used.

show abstract

Evaluation of noise exposure and risk of hearing impairment in employees using communication headsets or headphones

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Noise exposure and hearing status among employees using communication headsets

Noise exposure and hearing status among employees using communication headsets

Noise Parameters of Headsets Designed for Communication Platforms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About