Survey of Prevalence of Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Hawkers & Shopkeepers in Noisy Areas of Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Background-Noise is defined as unwanted sound.It is also defined as sound,generally of a random nature,the spectrum of which does not exhibit distinct frequency component (Harris,1979).In the Indian perspective,like everywhere, road traffic noise is unique in comparison to the other pollutants,because unlike air or water pollution,noise has no residual evidence to serve as a continuing reminder of its unpleasantness. Aim of the Study is to measure the environmental noise levels and estimate the prevalence of noise induced hearing loss in road side hawkers & shopkeepers in Indore City.Objectives were to measure and to get prevalence of the noise exposure among the hawkers and the shopkeepers. Method - A total 100 subjects (94 males and 6 females) with noise exposure of 2 years and above was selected. This included the male subjects had age between 18 to 40 years with the mean age of 29 years and female subjects had age between 27 to 35 years. Results - The overall noise exposure level for this population is found to be 82.49 dB (A) with minimum noise level 77 dB (A) and maximum 90 dB (A). The Average year of noise exposures to these individuals are found to be 7.2 years. 63% population had primary education, 34% had not completed their secondary education and only 3% had matriculation and above. For prevalence there is no significant difference in % of Hearing Loss cases in Hawkers & Shopkeepers.Conclusion - Thus,the study infers that the measured environmental noise level is increasing significantly to the damaging level and remains at hazardous level for most of the time during the studied hours.