Brief Communications-Self-reported hearing quality of traffic policemen: A questionnaire-based study

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen towards the health effects caused by noise pollution.
Materials and Methods: The present questionnaire-based study was carried out among 86 traffic policemen randomly selected for an awareness workshop for prevention of noise pollution. The questionnaire included questions regarding the self-assessment of the policemen about their hearing ability, past and present exposure to loud sound and the use of personal protective devices such as earplugs and earmuffs. The questionnaire was filled up by the subjects. The data analysis was carried out using Epi Info 3.3.2 and included calculation of percentages and proportions and application of the test of significance.
Results: The mean age was 39.2 ± 7.8 years and the mean years of exposure was 2.1 ± 1.8 years. Only 2.3% of the subjects felt that their hearing ability was below average. 11.6% complained of regular tinnitus, while 62.8% had work-related tinnitus and experienced it during working hours only. Only 4.7% used earplugs and that too, very seldom. Reasons for non-usage of earplugs/earmuffs included non-availability (65.1%), discomfort (11.6%), bad fit (2.3%), personal dislike (16.3%) and headache caused by its use (4.7%). 67.4% subjects did not use any method to reduce exposure to noise, while remaining used fingers, hands and cotton to avoid noise exposure.
Conclusion: The self-assessment of hearing by traffic policemen suggests that most of the traffic policemen have normal hearing. However, a systematic study with audiometry of these subjects is recommended.