ABSTRACT

Extensive research conducted during the last several decades has considerably enhanced our knowledge about noise-induced damage mechanisms of the inner ear. E€cient engineering and administrative control measures for reducing the noise exposure have been developed and widely implemented in industry. Various personal hearing protection devices (HPDs) are now available. Hearing conservation programs have been implemented widely in many countries, including a NIOSH-dened “hearing loss prevention program” in the United States (NIOSH, 1998), a “noise management program” in Australia, and others. Sophisticated sound monitoring devices such as sound level meters (SLMs) and sound dosimeters are at our disposal and are extensively used in occupational environments as critical tools for determining the workers’ noise exposure.