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Effects of Noise Exposure on Auditory Sensitivity

W. Dixon Ward

10.1002/cphy.cp090101

Source: Supplement 26: Handbook of Physiology, Reactions to Environmental Agents

Originally published: 1977

Published online: January 2011

Full Article on Wiley Online Library



Abstract

The sections in this article are:

1 Decibels
2 The Ear as a Sound Detector and the Microtrauma Theory
3 Noise Levels and Exposures
4 Noise‐Induced Threshold Shifts, Presbyacusis, Sociacusis, and Nosoacusis
5 Estimation of Noise‐Induced Permanent Threshold Shifts
6 Temporary Threshold Shifts from Steady Noise Exposures
7 Temporary Threshold Shifts from Intermittent Exposures
8 Temporary Threshold Shifts from Impulse Noise
9 Damage‐Risk Contours Based on Temporary Threshold Shifts
10 Government Standards
11 Implications of Extant Data on Permanent Threshold Shifts
12 Risk
13 The Biological Baseline — Its use and Misuse
14 Summary
Figure 1. Figure 1.

Weighting functions for assessment of noise levels. The ordinate indicates the number of decibels by which the relative contribution of a given spectral component (frequency) is diminished for the particular weighting function.
Figure 2. Figure 2.

Auditory thresholds in dB SPL at different frequencies. •, old standard (ASA 1951) for “normal” hearing; ×, the new norm (ISO 1964); ○, the threshold sensitivity of an ear after explosion of a firecracker about a foot away (acoustic trauma).

Data from Ward & Glorig 89
Figure 3. Figure 3.

The audiogram of the firecracker‐damaged ear shown in Figure 2, expressed in the conventional manner, i.e., in terms of dB hearing level (ISO), with increasing degrees of hearing loss indicated by a downward deflection from “normal.”
Figure 4. Figure 4.

Curves used for “correcting” audiometric data gathered on male workers for normal hazards of the everyday life: effects of the aging process (presbyacusis) of common noises of nonindustrial origin (sociacusis), and of minor otological hazards (nosoacusis). Age is the parameter. It is assumed that the sample has already been screened to eliminate many individuals whose sociacusic or nosoacusic hearing loss can be ascribed to a particular incident or disease.

Adapted from Spoor 70
Figure 5. Figure 5.

Temporary threshold shift, measured 8 min after the end of a work shift in a given constant noise level, as a function of the resting (preexposure) threshold sensitivity of the ear.

Adapted from Ward 84
Figure 6. Figure 6.

CHABA damage‐risk contours for single continuous noise exposures. These contours indicate those combinations of octave‐band SPL (ordinate), frequency (abscissa), and duration (parameter) that will just produce a temporary threshold shift, measured 2 min after exposure, of no more than 10 dB at 1,000 Hz or below, 15 dB at 2,000 Hz, or 20 dB at 3,000 Hz or above, in the average normal listener.

Adapted from Kryter et al. 47
Figure 7. Figure 7.

Synthesis by Passchier‐Vermeer 55 of the results of many studies relating inferred asymptotic industrial‐noise‐induced permanent threshold shifts (hearing levels after 10 years or more of steady exposure, corrected at least in part for presbyacusis, sociacusis, and nosoacusis by means of curves such as exemplified in Figure 4) at 4,000 Hz as a function of the A‐weighted sound level; continuous uninterrupted daily 8‐h exposures only. The line of fit has been drawn by the present writer.
Figure 8. Figure 8.

Summary of lines of fit to the data synthesized by Passchier‐Vermeer 55, for audiometric frequencies from 500 to 8,000 Hz. The line for 4,000 Hz, for example, is from Figure 7.
Figure 9. Figure 9.

Illustration of the degree of agreement (or lack thereof) between inferred industrial hearing losses at 4,000 Hz due to steady noise (line, from Fig. 7) and those from intermittent (○) and time‐varying (•) exposures having the same equivalent A‐weighted sound levels

Adapted from Passchier‐Vermeer 56


Figure 1.

Weighting functions for assessment of noise levels. The ordinate indicates the number of decibels by which the relative contribution of a given spectral component (frequency) is diminished for the particular weighting function.



Figure 2.

Auditory thresholds in dB SPL at different frequencies. •, old standard (ASA 1951) for “normal” hearing; ×, the new norm (ISO 1964); ○, the threshold sensitivity of an ear after explosion of a firecracker about a foot away (acoustic trauma).

Data from Ward & Glorig 89


Figure 3.

The audiogram of the firecracker‐damaged ear shown in Figure 2, expressed in the conventional manner, i.e., in terms of dB hearing level (ISO), with increasing degrees of hearing loss indicated by a downward deflection from “normal.”



Figure 4.

Curves used for “correcting” audiometric data gathered on male workers for normal hazards of the everyday life: effects of the aging process (presbyacusis) of common noises of nonindustrial origin (sociacusis), and of minor otological hazards (nosoacusis). Age is the parameter. It is assumed that the sample has already been screened to eliminate many individuals whose sociacusic or nosoacusic hearing loss can be ascribed to a particular incident or disease.

Adapted from Spoor 70


Figure 5.

Temporary threshold shift, measured 8 min after the end of a work shift in a given constant noise level, as a function of the resting (preexposure) threshold sensitivity of the ear.

Adapted from Ward 84


Figure 6.

CHABA damage‐risk contours for single continuous noise exposures. These contours indicate those combinations of octave‐band SPL (ordinate), frequency (abscissa), and duration (parameter) that will just produce a temporary threshold shift, measured 2 min after exposure, of no more than 10 dB at 1,000 Hz or below, 15 dB at 2,000 Hz, or 20 dB at 3,000 Hz or above, in the average normal listener.

Adapted from Kryter et al. 47


Figure 7.

Synthesis by Passchier‐Vermeer 55 of the results of many studies relating inferred asymptotic industrial‐noise‐induced permanent threshold shifts (hearing levels after 10 years or more of steady exposure, corrected at least in part for presbyacusis, sociacusis, and nosoacusis by means of curves such as exemplified in Figure 4) at 4,000 Hz as a function of the A‐weighted sound level; continuous uninterrupted daily 8‐h exposures only. The line of fit has been drawn by the present writer.



Figure 8.

Summary of lines of fit to the data synthesized by Passchier‐Vermeer 55, for audiometric frequencies from 500 to 8,000 Hz. The line for 4,000 Hz, for example, is from Figure 7.



Figure 9.

Illustration of the degree of agreement (or lack thereof) between inferred industrial hearing losses at 4,000 Hz due to steady noise (line, from Fig. 7) and those from intermittent (○) and time‐varying (•) exposures having the same equivalent A‐weighted sound levels

Adapted from Passchier‐Vermeer 56
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Article Title: Effects of Noise Exposure on Auditory Sensitivity
 

How to Cite

W. Dixon Ward. Effects of Noise Exposure on Auditory Sensitivity. Compr Physiol 2011, Supplement 26: Handbook of Physiology, Reactions to Environmental Agents: 1-15. First published in print 1977. doi: 10.1002/cphy.cp090101