[A comparison of hearing losses in the workers of a shipyard and in loggers in relation to individual risk factors].

It is suggested that, within the same energy level, an impulse noise is more hazardous to hearing than a permanent noise. To justify this hypothesis, a study was performed with groups of wood-cutters and shipyard workers to investigate different characteristics of noise load (noise levels, noise impulsivity from the outside and under the ear-flaps, noise emission levels with regard to the length of work and using ear-flaps), and hearing losses (both real and forecasted on the Robinson model). To avoid individual factors, a computerized assessment of 38 pairs of workers from both teams was performed (with regard to similar noise emission levels, diastolic pressures, smoking habits, their military service backgrounds as to the service in heavy artillery units, absence of otic diseases, low consumption of salicylates). The results showed that, within the same energy level, the noise in the shipyard was three times as impulsive and more otic disorders inducing than the noise in the wood-cutters' working conditions.