Noise induced oxidative stress and hearing loss in electrical generator workers

الملخص EN

Background and objectives This work was designed to study the effect of prolonged exposure to high noise thresholds on oxidative stress status and hearing ability in large private electrical generators workers.

Methods This study was carried out on 89 adult males.

Sixty of them were electrical generator workers and 29 healthy control subjects.

The intensity of noise inside and outside the electrical generators rooms was estimated.

In both groups, hearing ability, blood pressure, body mass index, serum total antioxidants, malondialdehyde and lipid profile were measured.

Results A significant decrease in serum total antioxidants and a significant increase in serum malondialdehyde when compared to healthy control group.

Significantly higher values of mean serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, body mass index and systolic blood pressure were observed in workers compared to the control group.

However, mean values of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol were found to be significantly lower among workers than in the control group.

Audiometric study revealed that, hearing abilities were significantly decrease among the workers at frequencies 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz.

However, no significant difference was reported between the two groups at frequency 125 Hz.

Conclusions The level of noise exposure in electrical generator workers of Duhok city was high and exceeding the 85dB allowed by municipality.

Noise inducing imbalance oxidative stress status and impaired hearing in these workers was reported and got more evident when the employment duration increased.