Prevalence of Hearing Loss and Associated Risk Factors Among Factory Workers in Urban Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss in the occupational setting remains a prevalent and preventable cause of disabling illness in the global industrial workforce, especially in developing nations. However, there has been scarce data available from the Pakistani industry that mainly involves selected sectors without a substantiated statistical analysis of the interaction of the duration of exposure to the intensity of the sound along with the pattern of extended work schedules and hearing protection practices. Objective: To determine the point prevalence of hearing impairment as evident from the audiogram and its interassociation factors in the selected group of workers of the Sheikhupura factory region of Pakistan. Methods: An analytical type of cross-sectional study involving a selected group of 135 workers from the Sheikhupura region of the Pakistan industry was carried out. Detailed interviews were conducted with the participants, measuring the sound intensity in their respective departments, examining the workers through audiograms, and collecting data on their work schedules and hearing protection practices. Results: The point prevalence of the selected group of workers of the Sheikhupura region of the Pakistan industry suffering from the said condition was revealed to be approximately one in three at 30.4% (41/135 [95% CI: 22.6–38.1%]). Approximately eight out of ten of the said hearing losses were bilateral at 80.5%. Workers aged above 10 years had approximately thrice the chances of suffering from hearing problems in the investigated group at an odds ratio of 3.06 [95% CI: 1.43–6.55], individuals exposed to sound above 95 dB had approximately thrice the chances at an odds of 3.18 [95% CI: 1.48–6.79], workers who worked extended hours above the scheduled eight hours had approximately thrice the chances of suffering from the said ailments at an odds of 3.17 [95% CI: 1.48–6.79], irregular users of hearing protection practices had approximately four times the chances of the said ailment at an odds of 4.14 [95% CI: 1.59–10.8], and smokers had approximately twice the chances of suffering from the said ailment at an odds of 2.19 [95% CI: 1.00–4.77]. Conclusion: Approximately one out of three workers of the selected region of the Pakistan industry was suffering from the said ailment due to the above-stated numerous factors.