title: Hazardous decibels: hearing health of firefighters.
abstract: Noise-induced hearing loss ranks among the most significant occupational health problems. In the United States, more than 1 million firefighters are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss due to exposure to hazardous levels of intermittent noise from sirens, air horns, and engines of emergency vehicles and fire trucks. Although irreversible, noise-induced hearing loss is entirely preventable through both engineering controls and personal protective equipment. This article describes occupational noise exposure, hearing loss, and strategies to prevent noise-induced hearing loss among firefighters.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: OiSaeng
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Samo
mesh_terms: D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D006293:Health Promotion; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology