OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS AND VIBRATION INDUCED DISORDERS

摘要

In 1908 the annual report of the Chief Inspector of Factories stated: "men employed in certain trades are liable to have their sense of hearing seriously impaired, if not entirely destroyed in the course of time, as a result of long continued exposure to loud noise." It is only in recent decades that this situation has begun to change. This irreversible sensorineural deafness is caused by damage to the hair cells of the organ of Corti in the cochlea. It can be the cause of accidents due to failure to hear warning signals. It reduces the quality of life and, especially in elderly people, produces social isolation. If tinnitus is prominent psychiatric symptoms can occur.