P-158 Deafness and fitness for work

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2023-03, Vol.80 (Suppl 1), p.A43-A43
• Main Authors: Ayed, Wiem, Mersni, Meriem, Mechergui, Najla, Bahri, Ghada, Said, Hanen Ben, Brahim, Dorra, Ladhari, Nizar, Youssef, Imen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts; Deafness; Fitness; Food processing; Hearing loss; Impairment; Noise; Otitis media; Patients; Protective equipment; Public works; Reinforcement; Tympanum; Workplaces
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/OEM-2023-EPICOH.102

IntroductionThere are many occupational sectors where noise is excessive. Employees with a hearing impairment (HAI) are the most vulnerable, as it may lead to unfitness for work. Keeping people with an HAI in the workplace is a necessity.ObjectiveTo determine the socio-professional characteristics of patients with hearing impairment.To study the impact of hearing impairment on the patient’s medical fitness to workMethodsRetrospective cross-sectional study which had interested patients with HAI who consulted the Occupational Medicine Department at Charles Nicolle Hospital over a six-year period from January 2016 to November 2022.ResultsOne hundred and fifty-one patients with HAI consulted our department. The mean age was 43.47±9.38 years. The predominance of males was noted in 70.9% of cases. ENT pathologies were found in 15.2% of the patients Perforation of the tympanum (n=7), otosclerosis (n=4), chronic otitis media (n=4), and congenital sensorineural deafness (n=3). The most common professional sectors were telecommunications (27.8%), food processing (11.3%), transport (8.6%), construction, and public works (8.6%). The jobs most occupied by the patients were manual workers (31.8%), teleconsultants (28.5%), drivers (8.6%), and machine operators (7.3%). The average professional seniority varied between 1 and 38 years. The patients suffered from sensorineural (76.8%), mixed (16.6%), and conductive (11.9%) hearing loss. The patients benefited from avoidance of exposure to lesional noise (69.5%), telephone calls (26.7%), safety posts (17.4%), and professional driving (8.9%). Reinforcement of personal protective equipment was indicated in 8.3% of cases. A declaration of the deafness as being of professional origin was done in 25.2% of cases.ConclusionAccording to our studies, there are several workplaces that are not suitable when deafness is present. Therefore, early detection of these pathologies as well as the reinforcement of individual and collective protection equipment is necessary.