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The effects of noise on hearing
Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 1977, 32:453-455
453
© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands
Book Reviews
The Effects of Noise on Hearing ( P r o c e e d i n g s o f a S y m p o s i u m o n t h e Effects o f N o i s e o n H e a r i n g , C a z a n o v i a , N . Y . , 1975), b y D . H e n d e r s o n , R. P. H a m e r n i k , D . S. D o s a n j h a n d H. J. M i l l s (Eds.), xiv +
565 pages, 226 i l l u s t r a t i o n s , 29 tables, R a v e n
Press, N e w Y o r k , N . Y . , 1976, U S $ 36.00. Although industrial noise has for long been recognised as a cause of hearing loss and social disablement it is only in recent years that it has become compensatable in many countries. As the need to incorporate occupational deafness under the varied industrial injury laws of these countries was foreseen, an enormous impetus was given to research into noise itself, the temporary and permanent effects of different types of noise on the hearing mechanisms as demonstrated audiometrically and when possible morphologically. Epidemiological studies into occupational noise-induced hearing loss were undertaken to a varying depth and extent and these retrospective findings were evaluated. The additive effects of ageing and noise, of some ototoxic drugs (notably the aminoglycoside group) and noise, of mechanical injury and noise, have been recognised as contributing to the total hearing loss of the individual. However, quantification of each factor's contribution is not possible except that a statistical estimate of the age contribution may be acceptable. Alongside these epidemiological studies, animal research on behavioural response to pure tones linked with physiological, biochemical, and morphological disturbances in the cochlea and central pathways has been pursued and correlation between the experimental and audiometric findings attempted. Furthermore, animal research findings have been extrapolated to the audiometric patterns of humans without satisfactory agreement being attained. This book results from a symposium sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the United States of America. The object was to re-evaluate the public health guide lines postulated in 1965 by the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committee on Hearing and Bioacoustics in the light of more recent research into the understanding and quantification of the effects of noise on hearing. Forty experts from the fields of acoustics, anatomy, physiology, audiology, epidemiology, otolaryngology and biochemistry were asked to provide a critical appraisal of their specialised fields. The book is divided into 6 sections covering noise and the extent of noise pollution, the anatomical, biochemical, and physiological changes of induced hearing loss, analytical and statistical mathematical models, epidemiological studies and finally the scientific, medical and legal implications for establishing the degree of risk to the exposed individual is considered. As with all symposia, healthy disagreements are evident and may provoke further lines of research, but there is much repetition which is particularly noticeable if the book is read through at one sitting. Individual chapters are interesting, but their interest is mainly allied to the reader's interest. In general, the book is better read piecemeal for it contains much of interest and for the clinician it is only digestible in small portions for it offers less practical help than other more dogmatic books. Hearing conservation programme studies have been found successful in protecting the hearing against noise and there is a general agreement that an 8-hour daily exposure to a level of around 85 db (A) noise is unlikely to cause permanent damage. Different countries have drawn up different scales for compensation disablement according to their political and economic states although it would seem that some international agreement on a standard formula could be reached in the future. Much of the work presented is a summary of previous publications but the book is a useful well-documented reference source for those actively engaged in this research field. Therefore there will be a place for it in University libraries, some departmental libraries and an occasional individual's bookshelf. J. D. K. Dawes
453
© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands
Book Reviews
The Effects of Noise on Hearing ( P r o c e e d i n g s o f a S y m p o s i u m o n t h e Effects o f N o i s e o n H e a r i n g , C a z a n o v i a , N . Y . , 1975), b y D . H e n d e r s o n , R. P. H a m e r n i k , D . S. D o s a n j h a n d H. J. M i l l s (Eds.), xiv +
565 pages, 226 i l l u s t r a t i o n s , 29 tables, R a v e n
Press, N e w Y o r k , N . Y . , 1976, U S $ 36.00. Although industrial noise has for long been recognised as a cause of hearing loss and social disablement it is only in recent years that it has become compensatable in many countries. As the need to incorporate occupational deafness under the varied industrial injury laws of these countries was foreseen, an enormous impetus was given to research into noise itself, the temporary and permanent effects of different types of noise on the hearing mechanisms as demonstrated audiometrically and when possible morphologically. Epidemiological studies into occupational noise-induced hearing loss were undertaken to a varying depth and extent and these retrospective findings were evaluated. The additive effects of ageing and noise, of some ototoxic drugs (notably the aminoglycoside group) and noise, of mechanical injury and noise, have been recognised as contributing to the total hearing loss of the individual. However, quantification of each factor's contribution is not possible except that a statistical estimate of the age contribution may be acceptable. Alongside these epidemiological studies, animal research on behavioural response to pure tones linked with physiological, biochemical, and morphological disturbances in the cochlea and central pathways has been pursued and correlation between the experimental and audiometric findings attempted. Furthermore, animal research findings have been extrapolated to the audiometric patterns of humans without satisfactory agreement being attained. This book results from a symposium sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the United States of America. The object was to re-evaluate the public health guide lines postulated in 1965 by the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committee on Hearing and Bioacoustics in the light of more recent research into the understanding and quantification of the effects of noise on hearing. Forty experts from the fields of acoustics, anatomy, physiology, audiology, epidemiology, otolaryngology and biochemistry were asked to provide a critical appraisal of their specialised fields. The book is divided into 6 sections covering noise and the extent of noise pollution, the anatomical, biochemical, and physiological changes of induced hearing loss, analytical and statistical mathematical models, epidemiological studies and finally the scientific, medical and legal implications for establishing the degree of risk to the exposed individual is considered. As with all symposia, healthy disagreements are evident and may provoke further lines of research, but there is much repetition which is particularly noticeable if the book is read through at one sitting. Individual chapters are interesting, but their interest is mainly allied to the reader's interest. In general, the book is better read piecemeal for it contains much of interest and for the clinician it is only digestible in small portions for it offers less practical help than other more dogmatic books. Hearing conservation programme studies have been found successful in protecting the hearing against noise and there is a general agreement that an 8-hour daily exposure to a level of around 85 db (A) noise is unlikely to cause permanent damage. Different countries have drawn up different scales for compensation disablement according to their political and economic states although it would seem that some international agreement on a standard formula could be reached in the future. Much of the work presented is a summary of previous publications but the book is a useful well-documented reference source for those actively engaged in this research field. Therefore there will be a place for it in University libraries, some departmental libraries and an occasional individual's bookshelf. J. D. K. Dawes