Scholarlink

Background <p>Traffic police personnel in rapidly urbanizing Indian cities are chronically exposed to hazardous noise levels, placing them at high risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Conventional pure-tone audiometry (PTA) often fails to detect the earliest signs of cochlear damage. This study aims to evaluate and compare the utility of high-frequency audiometry (HFA) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) in detecting early auditory damage in traffic police personnel with normal conventional audiograms.</p> Methods <p>A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Bangalore over 13 months on 120 participants. The cohort was divided into Group 1 (60 traffic police personnel) and Group 2 (60 office workers). All participants had normal conventional PTA thresholds (≤ 25 dB HL at 0.25–8&#xa0;kHz). Participants underwent HFA (10–16&#xa0;kHz) and DPOAE testing.</p> Results <p>Despite normal conventional hearing, Group 1 exhibited significantly higher thresholds in HFA at 12.5&#xa0;kHz and 16&#xa0;kHz (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). DPOAE analysis revealed significantly reduced signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and lower emission amplitudes in Group 1, particularly at 4&#xa0;kHz and 6&#xa0;kHz.</p> Conclusion <p>Traffic police personnel suffer from latent cochlear damage missed by routine screening. HFA and DPOAE are sensitive tools for the preclinical detection of NIHL and should be considered for occupational surveillance protocols.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Early detection of cochlear damage in traffic police personnel: a comparative study of high-frequency audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月5日

查看全文
  • Shwetha Poojary

摘要

Background

Traffic police personnel in rapidly urbanizing Indian cities are chronically exposed to hazardous noise levels, placing them at high risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Conventional pure-tone audiometry (PTA) often fails to detect the earliest signs of cochlear damage. This study aims to evaluate and compare the utility of high-frequency audiometry (HFA) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) in detecting early auditory damage in traffic police personnel with normal conventional audiograms.

Methods

A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Bangalore over 13 months on 120 participants. The cohort was divided into Group 1 (60 traffic police personnel) and Group 2 (60 office workers). All participants had normal conventional PTA thresholds (≤ 25 dB HL at 0.25–8 kHz). Participants underwent HFA (10–16 kHz) and DPOAE testing.

Results

Despite normal conventional hearing, Group 1 exhibited significantly higher thresholds in HFA at 12.5 kHz and 16 kHz (p < 0.001). DPOAE analysis revealed significantly reduced signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and lower emission amplitudes in Group 1, particularly at 4 kHz and 6 kHz.

Conclusion

Traffic police personnel suffer from latent cochlear damage missed by routine screening. HFA and DPOAE are sensitive tools for the preclinical detection of NIHL and should be considered for occupational surveillance protocols.