• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.645-654
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• 2009

In this study, we present an efficient ambulatory speech audiometric system to detect one's hearing problems at an earlier stage as possible without his or her visit to the audiometric testing facility such in a hospital or a clinic. To estimate a person's hearing threshold level in terms of speech sound response in his or her local environment, a digital assistant(PDA) device is used to generate the speech sound with implementing audiometric Graphic User Interface(GUI) system. Furthermore, a supra-aural earphone is used to measure a subject's hearing threshold level in terms of speech sound by the compensating the transducer's gain by adopting speech sound calibration system.

• 월간산업보건
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• s.68
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• pp.71-72
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• 1993

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.125-129
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• 2019

The ultimate goal of the quality control program for special periodic health examination agencies is to diagnose the health condition of a worker correctly, based on accurate examination and analysis skills, leading to protect the worker's health. The quality control program on three areas, chemical analysis for biological monitoring since 1995, and pneumoconiosis, audiometric testing since 1996, has contributed to improve the reliability of occupational health screenings by improving the issues including standardization of testing methods, tools, diagnostic opinions, and reliability of analysis for biological monitoring. It has contributed to improving the reliability of occupational health monitoring by rectifying the following issues associated with previous monitoring: absence of standardized testing methods, testing tools that are not upgraded, mismatching diagnostic opinions, and unreliable results of biological specimen analysis. Nevertheless, there are issues in need of further improvement such as lack of expertise or the use of inappropriate method for health examination, and passive and unwilling participation in the quality control. We suggested solutions to these problems for each area of quality control program. Above all, it is essential to provide active support for health examiners to develop their expertise, while encouraging all the health screening agencies, employers, and workers to develop the desire to improve the system and to maintain the relevance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.162-167
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• 2011

To identify the relationship between types of job classification (typical and atypical) and the levels of recognition of noise and the hearing threshold shift, a total of 457 workers in a cosmetic company were studied utilizing a questionnaire and the audiometric hearing test. The results were analyzed by factor analysis, t-test, and general linear model, as appropriate. The results showed that atypical workers had higher level of noise recognition but had lower levels of hearing ability, noise exposure, and the knowledge on hearing loss prevention, compared with those of typical workers. The high noise level group of typical workers showed higher threshold shift levels than that of atypical workers. Significant differences were found at 4 kHz for both ears and in right ear only for hearing threshold shift after adjusting age.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.298-309
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate stages of safety and health culture change through a reflection on 40 years of hearing conservation history at a multinational company. Methods: The target workplaces were multinational companies with more than 1,000 employees. The research used the clinical case study and system analysis methods based on direct observation of the research from 1994 to 2009. The latter method performed an analysis of the equilibrium state of the cross-section in the given period and the longitudinal profile of the change during the given period. Results: The stages of cultural change are divided into five stages and summarized as follows. In the first stage, workplace noise was not widely recognized as a hazard, while in the second stage, the measurement of noise levels and audiometric testing were conducted under the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Act (KOSHA). The driving force for change in the second stage was the amendment of the KOSHA. In the third stage, noise came to be recognized as a hazard factor through awareness training. The driving force of change during the third stage was the strong executive power exerted by the audit of the industrial hygiene program from the US head office. In the fourth step, there was a change to actually reduce noise. The driving force in this stage was a change in company executives' risk perception resulting from lawsuits over noise-induced hearing loss and the task force team activities for culture change based on the action learning protocol. At the fifth stage, a 'buy quiet policy' was institutionalized. The management's experience that noise reduction was difficult was the motivation to manage noise from the time of purchase of equipment. Conclusions: The activities of a hearing conservation program are determined by the improvement of the legal system and by the way it is enforced. Noise control activities to reduce noise areas may be possible through the shared risk perception of noise-induced hearing loss and by a change agent role as a facilitator to implement noise control.