Auditory Processing and Extended High-Frequency Hearing Deficits in Career Firefighters

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Date

2024-05

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The Ohio State University

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Abstract

Background Good hearing and auditory processing are necessary for firefighters to perform their job effectively. Importantly, firefighting is a profession with known environmental hazards such as chronic exposure to noise (e.g., firetruck, equipment, sirens) and airborne ototoxins during the overhaul stage (i.e., final stage searching for hidden fire) that may negatively impact hearing and auditory processing. It was hypothesized that firefighters would have deficits in their hearing and auditory processing due to these occupational exposures. Purpose Extended high-frequency hearing (i.e., frequencies above 8000 Hz) and tests of auditory processing (e.g., speech-in-noise, temporal processing) are likely more sensitive to the negative effects of noise and airborne ototoxins exposure than conventional audiometry. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate extended high-frequency hearing and auditory processing abilities in young to middle-aged firefighters compared to a control group. Methods Participants included 12 adults aged 20 to 55 years old for the control group and 13 career firefighters aged 23 to 56 years old. Self-reported hearing difficulties were measured using the Adult Auditory Performance Scale (AAPS). The Noise Exposure Questionnaire (NEQ) was used to quantify the control participants’ level and duration of noise exposure over the last year. A test battery was used to assess auditory function and included: extended high-frequency thresholds (10-16 kHz), a test of Dichotic Word Recognition (DWR), the Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) test, and the Listening in Spatialized Noise-Sentences (LiSN-S) test. Results Firefighters were found to have elevated hearing thresholds >4,000 Hz in both ears compared to the control group, except for the right ear at 10,000 Hz. The firefighter group also performed significantly poorer on the LiSN-S and exhibited significantly smaller spatial advantages than the control group. Differences between the firefighter and control groups were not observed for the AAPS questionnaire, GIN, or DWR tests. Conclusions Results from the present study suggest that occupational exposure to noise and airborne ototoxins has a detrimental impact on firefighter hearing and auditory processing. It would be beneficial to consider adding extended-high frequency threshold and speech-in-noise testing to standard firefighter hearing evaluations.

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Firefighters, Auditory Processing, Extended High-Frequency, Hearing

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