"As part of a national postal survey of exposure to vibration, information was collected on occupational exposure to noise at work, and on hearing difficulties and tinnitus. ...
Significant hearing difficulty and tinnitus are quite common, especially in men in the older working age range. Both are strongly associated with years of exposure in a noisy occupation, and these exposures arise largely in men. The burden of hearing difficulties attributable to occupational noise exposure in Great Britain is substantial. This report highlights some occupations in which hearing difficulty and current reports of significant noise appear to coincide. The findings on risk by occupation should be regarded as exploratory (owing to small numbers in individual groups), but it seems appropriate to focus hearing conservation
measures particularly on workers from the construction industry."

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