Which Healthcare Workers Are Most at Risk for Occupational Hearing Loss?

​Several healthcare occupations are associated with an increased risk for hearing loss, according to a forthcoming study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Approximately 17% of workers in the United States are exposed to hazardous noise at work; the prevalence varies across industries and occupations. Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related health conditions, the authors said. It is also entirely preventable. The healthcare and social assistance (HSA) sector is considered a "low-exposure" industry; however, the study revealed a higher than expected prevalence of hearing threshold shift (25% higher than the reference industry) and incidence of hearing loss (7%).