Influence of Noise in Ambulance Vehicles on Emergency Service Personnel

Abstract

Every day, noise is a ubiquitous potential hazard to our body. Importance is already dedicated early in history and still continues by steady investigations in terms of protecting the personnel in loud environment. “Worldwide, 16% of hearing loss in adults is attributed to occupational noise.” Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a sensorineural hearing loss, explained by permanent threshold shift of hearing sensitivity. NIHL not only affects the auditory system but also has psychosocial effects and is proved to have interference with general health by sleep disturbances or cardiovascular symptoms. This study aims to detect and define the sound pressure levels that ambulance service workers are exposed to during their shifts in ambulance vehicle, especially with the focus on differences during signal and non-signal use and different speed levels and determining whether the noise has hazardous character. The collection of study data is composed of two parts. The first part is the indication of noise level in the ambulance vehicle with the help of a sound level meter. The second part included a questionnaire that constituted 14 questions sent electronically. In total, 207 workers responded.