Prevalence of Hearing Loss and Perceptions of Hearing Health and Protection among Florida Firefighters

Abstract

Firefighters are exposed to extensive hazardous noise while on the job, both during routine tasks at the station and when responding to calls. However, little is known about firefighters’ occupational noise hazards. This study employed mixed methods, including focus groups, a survey, and audiometric testing, to identify sources of noise in the firefighters’ work environment, determine hearing protective strategies, discern firefighters’ perceptions of occupational noise exposure and impacts to their health, and quantify the prevalence of hearing loss among South Florida firefighters. A total of 6 senior officers served in an expert panel, 12 participated in focus groups, 300 completed the survey, and 214 received audiometric tests. Most firefighters were unaware of the risk and their departments’ policies, and did not participate in hearing protection practices and avoided using hearing protection devices, which they believed impede team communication and situational awareness. Nearly 30% of participating firefighters showed mild to profound hearing loss, a prevalence that is considerably worse than expected by normal aging alone. Educating firefighters about noise-induced hearing loss early in their careers may have significant health implications for their future. These findings provide insights for developing technologies and programs to mitigate the effects of noise exposure in the firefighting population.

Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in the City of Mosul: A Cross-sectional Study

“…The variables of years in the job and years in the current job also demonstrated limited predictive power for potential hearing loss in the current study. These findings may be inconsistent with previous studies (16,22,23) that have reported a correlation between the duration of occupational noise exposure and hearing loss. However, it is important to consider that the current study did not directly measure the level of noise exposure or differentiate between cumulative exposure and intensity of exposure, which could have influenced the results.…”

Exploring the Strategies to Empower the Mothers of Adolescent Girls with Hearing Impairment to Deal with their Social and Emotional Problems

“…Particularly it limits the mothers in searching for treatment, obtaining social and supportive services, and in the rehabilitation process. Although it is highlighted in the literature, hearing impaired girls and their families have a greater social and emotional advantage (Millet, Snapp, Rajguru, & Schaefer Solle, 2023) but our local studies have not covered the mothers' empowerment to deal with social and emotional problems of themselves and their special daughters. Moreover, the studies have highlighted the problems faced by the mothers of hearing-impaired girls but a gap in the previous research studies has been found concerning the coping strategies used by the mothers of hearing-impaired girls to deal with social and emotional problems (Timmer et al, 2023) globally and in our local context.…”