Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 14, Issue 5 , Pages 438-442, May 1985

Accelerated hearing loss in urban emergency medical services firefighters

    MD
  • Paul E Pepe

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for reprints: Paul E Pepe, MD, Emergency Medical and Trauma Services, Director's Office, Suite 178, 1115 North MacGregor Drive, Houston, Texas 77030.
    • , PhD
  • James Jerger

      Affiliations

    • Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
    • , MD
  • Robert H Miller

      Affiliations

    • Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
    • , MS
  • Susan Jerger

      Affiliations

    • Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

Received 30 May 1984; accepted 30 July 1984.

A group of 192 firefighters serving in a busy urban emergency medical services (EMS) system was randomly selected for hearing tests. Total number of hours of siren noise exposure was calculated for each man and was compared to the outcome of hearing tests. Hearing loss was defined by the amount of sound intensity required to sense both midfrequency and high-frequency tones. Results indicated a correlation between hearing loss and the duration of siren noise exposure. The loss could not be attributed to non-job-related sources. In addition, the rate of hearing loss over time was 150% of that expected in age-matched, non-noise-exposed men. These findings confirm the observations of others that EMS personnel are at risk for hearing loss beyond that expected from aging alone, and they document that the hearing loss correlates with the duration of intense siren noise exposure.

EMS, firefighters, health problems of, hearing problems, EMS workers

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

 Presented at the University Association for Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, May 1984.

PII: S0196-0644(85)80288-2

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 14, Issue 5 , Pages 438-442, May 1985

Article Tools