Evaluation of Hearing Levels of Residents Living Near a Major Airport

Abstract

Audiograms and other data related to ear conditions and noise exposure were obtained from residents drawn from two neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area. One community bordered Los Angeles International Airport and had been subjected over the years to frequent takeoff noise of high level. Maximum rms measurements of these aircraft sounds outdoors in this neighborhood ranged from 76 to 101 dBA with a median of 88 dBA. The second community was similar to the airport one in demography but free of significant aircraft noise intrusion. Noise levels here rarely exceeded 60 dBA and commonly were 50 dBA or less. Both groups displayed average hearing levels as good and at certain frequencies slightly better than estimates obtained from the National Health Survey of 1960-1962. The overall findings did not make it possible to draw firm conclusions about community aircraft noise exposure as a cause of the apparent differences in hearing levels between the two groups.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1972
Accession Number
AD0747129

Entities

People

  • Avi J. Cohen
  • D. C. Nagel
  • J. E. Parnell

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustics
  • Aircrafts
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Ear
  • Ear Diseases
  • Health Services
  • Hearing Disorders
  • Hearing Loss
  • Jet Aircraft
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Aircraft
  • Occupational Safety And Health
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Public Health
  • Statistics
  • Surveys

Readers

  • Acoustics.
  • Economics
  • Gender and Food Studies