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. 2021 Sep 1:14:3653-3658.
doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S319858. eCollection 2021.

Hearing Loss and Associated Factors Among Noise-Exposed Workers in Palm Oil Mills

Daniel Raj Rasasoran  1 , Azman Atil  2 , Mohammad Saffree Jeffree  2 , Sahipudin Saupin  2 , Khamisah Awang Lukman  3
Affiliations

Hearing Loss and Associated Factors Among Noise-Exposed Workers in Palm Oil Mills

Daniel Raj Rasasoran et al. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. .

Abstract

Introduction: Almost 90% of the reported occupational diseases in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo were due to hearing loss. The manufacturing industry was the main contributor to this problem. This study aims to identify the prevalence and associated factors for hearing loss among workers in the palm oil manufacturing industry in Sabah.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 312 respondents from five palm oil mills in Sabah from January to April 2019. Audiometric tests, validated questionnaires and sound level meters were used. Chi-square test and independent t-test were conducted to determine the associated factors for hearing loss.

Results: 75% (n = 234) of the respondents were diagnosed with hearing loss. Most of them were male (96.2%) with a mean age of 44.4 (SD 9.8) years, mean duration of employment of 16.2 (SD 9.7) years and mean noise exposure of 96.1 (SD 4.8) dB(A). The significant factors associated with hearing loss were older age (p = 0.001), married (p = 0.001), blue-collar jobs (p = 0.003), smoking (p = 0.001), works with noisy machinery (p = 0.005), lower level of noise exposed (p = 0.015), longer duration of employment (p = 0.001), and longer overtime hours per week (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: The prevalence of hearing loss among workers in the noise-exposed palm oil industries was high. Annual audiometry testing and job rotation from noise-exposed workstations were recommended. A smoking cessation program may help but reduction of noise from the source by engineering control is still the best method.

Keywords: hearing loss; noise exposed workers; palm oil mill.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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