Survey on preventive measures against noise-induced hearing loss in Japanese companies

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21464
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H06383 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0908:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
• Principal Investigator: Nagano Chikage 産業医科大学, 産業生態科学研究所 産業保健管理学, 助教 (60389476)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 騒音対策 / 騒音 / 騒音性難聴 / 聴覚保護 / 労働衛生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In Japan, "Governmental guideline for the prevention of noise-induced disorders" recommends both the risk assessment based on working environment measurements and the health management based on audiometric tests of workers. Among various hazard-specific health examinations, the audiometry reveals the largest number of abnormal cases; and the number of claims on work-related hearing loss has not been decreased. The aforementioned guideline has not been revised for 27 years and may not reflects the current situation of noise exposure at workplaces. This survey found that the majority of the sampled workplaces implemented some measures in accordance with the guideline; however, they are mostly focused on hearing protection of the exposed workers.

Free Research Field

産業保健

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本における騒音障害防止対策は、ガイドライン制定により作業環境（騒音）測定や健康診断（聴力検査）によるリスクアセスメントは普及してきたといえるが、その結果に基づく騒音対策と聴覚管理といったリスクマネジメントの普及までは至らず、受音者対策、特に聴覚（防音）保護具に頼っている現状を把握することができた。過去の日本国内の事業場における騒音対策の実態調査は地域や職種、事業場規模が限定されたものであり、しかも10年以上実施されていなかった。本研究により全国規模の中小事業場～大企業まで広く最新の騒音職場の実態を明らかにし、実際に事業場で行われている好事例を得ることで現ガイドラインの課題を示すことができた。