Student research

Abstract

Noise induced hearing loss is the second most common cause of sensorineural hearing problem and is one of the major occupational disease in the world. In developed countries like Europe, noise induced hearing loss cost the country about thirteen billion pounds loss every year while in developing countries like Nigeria, it is being overlooked.

The oil and gas industry is an important area in the Nigerian economy as the country’s economy flourishes from it. The offshore workers in the Nigerian oil and gas sector are being exposed to a high noise exposure of about 107- 110 dB. These high level, interferes with their work and their health conditions as not only are their hearing being affected, they tend to have other illness such as headache, stress and are exposed to work place accidents due to damage in their hearing loss.

In the control of noise induced hearing loss, hearing protective devices are the most frequently used after all engineering and administrative controls have been put in place. It is important, for these devices, to be used correctly as poor use of these devices will result in a low attenuation and a high exposure to noise. It is for this important reason that effective training and knowledge on the use of hearing protective devices and noise induced hearing loss, be taken seriously in such industries and also audiometric testing be put in place for workers exposed to hazardous noise. It is therefore important to know the level of knowledge on the use of hearing protective devices that already exist among offshore workers in other to determine the necessary steps needed to carry out a good hearing conservation program. This study aims at finding out the level of training and knowledge given to them on the use of hearing protective devices and also their individual understanding on noise induced hearing loss.