ABSTRACT
References/Notes 826
In January of 1991, the National Institutes of Health convened a symposium on hearing
loss with special emphasis on occupational hearing loss and recreational noise exposures
(1). At that conference, the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) predicted that the final census of occupational hearing loss claims in the
railroad industry will exceed 100,000 (2). While this prediction appears excessive, the fact
is that, as of January 1992, in excess of 60,000 claims have been presented by present and
former railroad workers against their employers alleging some degree of hearing loss as a
result of exposure to noise at work. This is contrasted with 1987 when less than 250 claims
and lawsuits had been presented.
