A study on the correlation between annual noise exposure (ANE) and auditory attention, as well as hearing loss in military personnel.

BACKGROUND

The accurate processing of auditory signals holds significant importance in military occupations and can be adversely affected by exposure to noise.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigates the correlation between annual noise exposure (ANE) and military personnel's auditory attention and hearing loss.

METHODS

This study assessed 220 military personnel serving in an armored brigade unit. The Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ) was employed to quantify annual noise exposure, while the Dichotic Digits Test (DDT) was used to measure auditory attention. Additionally, the study examined the hearing threshold of personnel across frequencies ranging from 500 to 8000 Hz.

RESULTS

The mean ANE among the personnel was 76.80±7.26 dB, and the average number of correct responses in the Dichotic Digits Test (DDT) was 73.74±4.85. The results of the correlation analysis indicated a significant inverse relationship between annual noise exposure and auditory attention (P < 0.001), as well as a notable direct correlation between personnel's annual noise exposure and hearing loss across all frequencies (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study showed that the increase in annual noise exposure has increased the rate of hearing loss in both ears and decreased the auditory attention of military personnel.