Is there a Risk of Hearing Loss in Dental Technicians? A Case Control Study

Aim: Dental technicians are exposed to noise and chemical hazards that may lead to hearing loss in workplace. The aim of this study is to investigate the hearing loss risk of dental technicians working in dental laboratories. Material and Methods: A hundred and five dental laboratory technicians who applied to Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital for periodic check and 120 control subjects were included in the study. All of the subjects in both the dental technician and control groups were male. Audiograms of dental laboratory technicians was compared with audiograms of control subjects. Mann Whitney-U test and Spearman correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis of data. Results: The hearing threshold values of the dental technicians at all frequency in both ears were found to be significantly higher than the control group. There were statistically significant correlation between age and hearing thresholds at all frequencies (except at 250 Hz and 1000 Hz) in dental technician group. There were statistically significant correlation between age and hearing thresholds at only 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz in control group. It was found that there were statistically significant correlations between exposure time and hearing thresholds at 2, 4 and 8 kHz frequencies in dental technician group. Conclusion: Results of this study indicate that hearing loss is a serious occupational health problem in dental technicians. Dental technicians are exposed to noise and chemical hazards that may constitute a risk for hearing loss. Dental technicians must take preventive measures for hearing loss during working