• Journal of Audiology & Otology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.146-151
• /
• 2021

Background and Objectives: The relationship between hearing aid (HA) use and improvement in cognitive function is not fully known. This study aimed to determine whether HAs could recover temporal resolution or hearing in noise functions. Materials and Methods: We designed a prospective study with two groups: HA users and controls. Patients older than 45 years, with a pure tone average threshold of worse than 40 dB and a speech discrimination score better than 60% in both ears were eligible. Central auditory processing tests and hearing in noise tests (HINTs) were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the use of a monaural HA in the HA group compared to the control group. The changes in the evaluation parameters were statistically analyzed using the linear mixed model. Results: A total of 26 participants (13 in the HA and 13 in the control group) were included in this study. The frequency (p<0.01) and duration test (p=0.02) scores showed significant improvements in the HA group after 1 year, while the HINT scores showed no significant change. Conclusions: After using an HA for one year, patients performed better on temporal resolution tests. No improvement was documented with regard to hearing in noise.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.136-145
• /
• 1999

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic slovents and noise on hearing loss. We selected organic solvents exposed group of 32 cases, noise exposed group of 31 cases, both noise and solvent exposed group of 31 cases, and control group of 53 cases and studied the relation between exposure level of noise and organic solvents and degree of hearing loss. The results were as follows. The subjects under investigation were exposed to noise and organic solvents under threshold limit values and the amount of urinary hippuric acid excretion were also under biological exposure indices. In case of noise, both noise and organic solvents exposed group and noise exposed group were more exposed than organic solvents exposed group(p<0.05). When urinary hippuric acid excretion were concerned, both noise iud organic solvents exposed group and organic solvents exposed group showed higher values than noise exposed group(p<0.05). In comparison of mean auditory threshold values by frequency, on the air conduction test, both noise and organic solvents exposed group showed significantly higher hearing loss than noise exposed group in 500Hz of right ear, 500 and 2000Hz of left ear(p<0.05). Forty-three cases among 147 subjects were regarded as hearing loss group and average age(42.6years) of hearing loss group was higher than normal groups average age of 38.0 years. Urinary hippuric acid excretions of hearing loss group were significantly higher than normal group(p<0.05). Thirty-eight percent(12cases) of noise exposed group, 40.6 $\%$(13cases) of organic solvents exposed group, 51.6 $\%$(16cases) of both noise and organic solvents exposed group, and 3.8 $\%$(2cases) of unexposed group were regarded as hearing losers. Exposed groups showed higher incidence of hearing loss than unexposed group but there were no significant differences among the exposed groups. The variables showing significant correlation with hearing loss were age and the amount of hippuric acid in urinary excretion. When age were adjusted for the purpose of seeing the effects of hearing losses due to organic solvent, urinary excretion of hippuric acids was the only variable with significant correlation with hearing loss (p<0.05). When odds ratio to hearing loss between control and exposed groups was considered, noise exposed group showed 6.1 times (95 $\%$ CI: 3.3-8.7), organic solvents exposed group showed 7.4 times (95 $\%$ CI: 3.5-14.6) and both noise and organic solvents exposed group showed 17.2 times(95% CI: 5.6-31.8) higher values than unexposed group(p<0.01). Above results suggest that health screening test of hearing loss is also needed in organic solvents exposed workers.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.177-183
• /
• 1974

It is generally recognized that the environmental noise of the various working places thought to be the cause of hearing disturbance. This survey was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of noise-induced occupational bearing loss among the weavers of 39 textile industries in Taegu, Korea. For this survey, 432 male workers and 2,023 female workers were examined their hearing acuity by Individual pure tone threshold determination test(air conduction), from November, 1972, to January, 1973. Main findings were as follows : 1. The mean of noise intensity of the 54 weaving rooms was, in over all, $95.6{\pm}4.2dB\;(A),\;95.9{\pm}4.0dB\;(B)\;and\;96.2{\pm}3.9dB\;(C)$. 2. The mean hearing threshold levels by service years in the 4,000 Hz were intensively increased from 1st to 3rd year and slightly decreased. than that of 3rd year, from after 3rd to 5th year, after 5th year that increased slightly. 3. The mean hearing threshold levels by frequencies were highest in the 4,000 Hz(male: $25.0{\pm}11.3dB$, female: $22.0{\pm}10.2dB$) and followed by 6,000, 8,000 and 3,000 Hz. 4. The mean hearing threshold level of the 6,000 Hz (male: 17.0 dB. female: 17.9dB) was higher than that of 4,000Hz (male: 16.4 dB, female: 17.1dB) in tile 1st service year. 5. The mean hearing loss of examinees was $16.2{\pm}8.0dB$ in male and $15.4{\pm}7.8dB$ in female.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.8 s.101
• /
• pp.980-987
• /
• 2005

It is very difficult to reduce ambient noise level in the downtown. The best method is to improve the sound amenity of the districts, considering concept of soundscape. This study aims to survey the effect of introducing sound and masking to reduce the background noise level. We carried out the evaluating test for 18 introducing sounds varied S/N ratio(-5, 0, +5) in the city riverside. In these test, subjects evaluated the sound environment with five bipolar adjective scales. It was evaluated that introducing sounds improved the sound environment, and that S/N +5 dB was very appropriate to mask the background noise. But the hearing level was suggested to be S/N 0 dB or less.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.30 no.2 s.57
• /
• pp.356-368
• /
• 1997

In effort to determine whether aircraft noise can have health effects such as hearing loss, hypertension and psychological stress, a total of 111 male professors and administrative officers working a college near a military airport in Korea(exposed group) and a total of 168 males and 112 females matched by age groups(control groups) were analyzed. Personal noise exposure and indoor and outdoor sound level of jet aircraft noise were measured at the exposed are3. And pure tone, air conduction test and measurement of blood pressure were given to the exposed(males) and matched control groups (males and females). BEPSI(Brief Encounter Psychological Instrument) and psychological response to aircraft noise were examined for the exposed group. The noise dosimetry results revealed time-weighted averages(TWAs) that ranged from 61 to 68 dBA. However the levels encountered during taking off jet airplanes reached 126 dBA for two half minutes time period. Th, audiometric, test showed that mean values of HTL(hearing threshold level) in exposed group at every frequency(500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz were much lower than them of male and female control groups. And in old age groups, interaction of age and noise was observed at 8,000 Hz in both ears(p<0.05). Conclusively, aircraft noise does not appear to induce hearing loss directly in high frequency, but may decreased hearing threshold level by interaction of aging process and noise exposure. However, difference of mean values of exposed and control groups on blood pressure was not significantly. In psychological test, annoyance was the most severe psychological response to noise in exposed group, but mean value of BEPSI was not correlated with job duration in exposed group.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.299-305
• /
• 2015

A statistical annoyance model to railway noise at platform was proposed by jury evaluation test performed in hearing laboratory. ITX-Saemaeul and Mugunghwa were chosen as the noise sources of the test, and announcement sound was included to simulate real situation. Logistic regression analysis produced %HA_LAB curve. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and classification accuracy test were used to verify the model's statistical significance. It was shown that the model which was generated from relatively small number of samples is statistically significant.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.201-208
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate hypoacusis due to workplace noise among dental technicians. Pure tone audiometry, impedance audiometry and heart rate variability were measured for 60 dental technicians and office workers in D city from July to November 2013, and a survey on the effects of noise was conducted. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis. In the result for threshold of pure tone audiometry, the average hearing threshold of left ears in the air conduction (AC) test showed a statistically significant decrease (P=0.019) among dental technicians, who are frequently exposed to workplace noise. The hearing threshold in the AC test for each frequency was significantly different between the two groups at 125 Hz (P=0.012) in right ears and at 1 kHz (P=0.022), 2 kHz (P=0.040), and 8 kHz (P=0.018) in left ears. Dental technicians who had worked for 16 years or longer had a significantly higher incidence of hypoacusis in the right ear (P=0.030) and in the left ear (P=0.010). In impedance audiometry showed a tympanometry result of type A in both the dental technician group and the office worker group.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.153-160
• /
• 2008

Personal noise exposure was assessed in railroad operators working in 40 operation units including the Gyeongbu line, Honam line, and Janghang line between 2004 and 2006. 8-hour TWA were assessed based on the MOL (Ministry of Labor) guideline on noise evaluation, and 17% of these measurements exceeded 85 dBA while 70% were over 80 dBA. When the ACGIH TLV is adopted, 40% of measurements were over TLV (85 dBA). The noise exposure risk of railroad operators was higher for diesel locomotive operation and longer operational distances; in addition, the risk was higher for passenger car operation compared to freight car driving. Given that in Korea, over the past 30 years diesel locomotives have provided most of the railway's motive power and that hearing protective equipment is not likely to be used by workers during operation, railroad operators are at a high risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The result of audiometric test among 568 railroad operators showed that 32.6% of those tested had a hearing threshold shift of more than 40 dB. In conclusion, this study calls for more fundamental measures including noise control countermeasures within the operation areas, development of equipment that generates less noise and adopting limitation on the operation distance for a work shift.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.218-229
• /
• 2011

Companding algorithms have been used to enhance speech recognition in noise for cochlea implant users. The efficiency of using companding for digital hearing aid users is not yet validated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the companding for digital hearing aid users in the various hearing loss cases. Using HeLPS, a hearing loss simulator, two different sensorinerual hearing loss conditions were simulated; mild gently sloping hearing loss(HL1) and moderate to steeply sloping hearing loss(HL2). In addition, a non-linear compression was simulated to compensate for hearing loss using national acoustic laboratories-non-linear version 1(NAL-NL1) in HeLPS. In companding, the following four different companding strategies were used changing Q values(q1, q2) of pre-filter(F filter) and post filter(G filter). Firstly, five IEEE sentences which were presented with speech-shaped noise at different SNRs(0, 5, 10, 15 dB) were processed by the companding. Secondly, the processed signals were applied to HeLPS. For comparison, signals which were not processed by companding were also applied to HeLPS. For the processed signals, log-likelihood ratio(LLR) and cepstral distance(CEP) were measured for evaluation of speech quality. Also, fourteen normal hearing listeners performed speech reception threshold(SRT) test for evaluation of speech intelligibility. As a result of this study, the processed signals with the companding and NAL-NL1 have performed better than that with only NAL-NL1 in the sensorineural hearing loss conditions. Moreover, the higher ratio of Q values showed better scores in LLR and CEP. In the SRT test, the processed signals with companding(SRT = -13.33 dB SPL) showed significantly better speech perception in noise than those processed using only NAL-NL1(SRT = -11.56 dB SPL).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.145-148
• /
• 2004

Until now, product mostly has revealed physical quantities created by the standpoint of engineers. Consumers, however, perceive and evaluate products on the non-physical characteristics, such as feelings, emotions, and experiences in different social and cultural situations. Especially, for the household appliances such as a refrigerator, the sound is heavily related to the satisfaction of a customer who is a real user of the product and is very important factor to decide purchasing as well as visual design. Therefore, in this research, not only the simple sound pressure level but also the consumer's sense of hearing evaluate the noise from the refrigerator. And also, in order to improve the quality of sound through the design change, the consumer's evaluation is analyzed and related to the engineering quantities.