The Effect of a Web-Based Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Prevention Program on Hearing Protection Device Behavior Among Thai Navy Officers: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

        Navy officers working on the coastal guard vessels risk hearing loss due to repeated exposure to high noise levels from ship engines. Therefore, proper use of hearing protection devices is important. In this study, a web-based hearing loss prevention program was developed to promote the behavior of the use of hearing protection devices among Thai navy officers working on coastal guard vessels. In total, 152 navy personnel were recruited based on selection criteria and randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 76) and control groups (n = 76). The participants in the experimental group received the hearing loss prevention program via a website over four weeks. After completing the program, hearing protection device behavior was evaluated by a self-report questionnaire immediately after and at eight weeks follow-up.        The results showed significantly increasing scores of the use of hearing protection devices behavior within the experimental group, both immediately and eight weeks after the program completion. However, there were no significant differences in the scores when comparing between groups, even though the scores of the experimental group were better than those in the control group. The restrictions could be explained by some emerging events during the implementation period, including the COVID-19 pandemic followed by a massive oil spill incident at sea. These put an extra workload on the study participants. Most importantly, there was a problem with the network connection that might have affected the continuation of participant attention to the program. Although this study found no effective results of the developed program due to some limitations, nurses can adopt this protective intervention to reduce the risk of occupational noise-induced hearing loss among Navy officers. Therefore, a recommendation for further study is to develop an intervention program that considers both the working context of the coastal vessels and appropriate participation methods that require more challenging efforts.