| Title: | Peripheral and central auditory dysfunction induced by occupational exposure to organic solvents |
| Author(s): | Fuente A; Slade MD; Taylor T; Morata TC; Keith RW; Sparer J; Rabinowitz PM; |
| Address: | "School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Medical Faculty, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. afuente@med.uchile.cl" |
| DOI: | 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181bae17c |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1536-5948 (Electronic) 1076-2752 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of solvent exposure on hearing function, through an audiological test battery, in a population not occupationally exposed to high levels of noise. METHODS: One hundred ten workers from a coating factory were studied. Jobs at the factory were divided into three different levels of solvent exposure. Hearing status was assessed with a test battery including pure-tone hearing thresholds (0.5-8 kHz), high-frequency hearing thresholds (12 and 16 kHz), and dichotic listening measured through dichotic digits test. Multiple linear regression models were created to explore possible association between solvent exposure and each of the hearing outcomes. RESULTS: Significant associations between solvent exposure and the three hearing outcomes were found. Covariates such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity were also significantly associated with the studied hearing outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational exposure to solvents may induce both peripheral and central auditory dysfunction. The dichotic digits test seems as a sensible tool to detect central auditory dysfunction associated with solvent exposure. Hearing loss prevention programs may use this tool to monitor hearing in solvent-exposed workers" |
| Keywords: | "Adult Age Factors Aged Air Pollutants, Occupational/*adverse effects/analysis Audiometry Auditory Diseases, Central/*chemically induced/ethnology Female Hispanic or Latino Humans Male Middle Aged Occupational Diseases/*chemically induced/ethnology Occupat;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineFuente, Adrian Slade, Martin D Taylor, Tanisha Morata, Thais C Keith, Robert W Sparer, Judy Rabinowitz, Peter M eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. 2009/09/30 J Occup Environ Med. 2009 Oct; 51(10):1202-11. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181bae17c" |
