Deafness and depression in the workplace: is there an association?

Abstract

Introduction Chronic exposure to damaging noise can lead to hearing loss . People suffering from hearing problems find it increasingly difficult to communicate and become withdrawn. This lack of contact can lead to the onset of anxiodepressive disorders . Objectives To study the epidemiological and clinical particularities of hearing loss in patients with psychoaffective disorders. To study the impact of this association on the medical aptitude for work. Methods Retrospective descriptive study of depressive patients with hearing loss who consulted the Occupational Medicine Department at Charles Nicolle Hospital over a six-year period from January 2016 to November 2022. Results Out of 150 patients with hearing loss who consulted our service, 10 patients had an axio-dépressive disorder . Seven were men and three were women. The mean age was 43 ± 5 years and the mean job seniority was 11 years [3-20]. they belonged to the telecommunications (n=6), industry (n=2), printing(n=1), and transport sectors (n=1) . The job positions were : teleconsultant (n=6), operator machine (n=3) and driver (n=1) the symptoms presented by the patients were hearing loss (n=4), otalgia (n=1) , diziness (n=1), tinnitus(n=1) . The average time to onset of symptoms was 13±8 years [1-35] . The hearing deficits presented by the patients were: sensorineural hearing loss (n=7), mixed hearing loss (n=1) and conductive hearing loss (n=2). The mean of Hearing loss were 34±9 dB in the right ear and 34±6 dB in the left ear . A declaration of the deafness as an occupational disease was indicated in two of the cases. the univariate statistical study showed that anxiety-depressive disorders were associated with tinnitus (p=0,036,OR=4,2[0,99-17,659]) and the position of teleconsultant (p=0,009,OR=5,622[1,338-23,627] . Eviction from exposition to noise was indicated in seven cases Conclusions According to our study, hearing loss in patients with anxio-depressice disordes is associated with tinnitus and teleconsultant job position . Early screening early screening of people at risk is recommended. Disclosure of Interest None Declared