Abstract:
Hearing impairment interferes with normal communication and reduces the quality of life for the affected individual and significant others. In the workplace, noise-induced hearing loss has been one of the most prevalent work-related diseases, but both employees and employers have not yet accepted it as a serious health hazard. In order to promote an understanding of the social consequence of hearing loss, establishment of methods for evaluating hearing handicaps and for implementing workplace health promotion are indispensable. For this reason, the Japanese version of the Hearing Disability and Handicap Scale (HDHS) and a questionnaire on the quality life (QOL) were developed. Based on the preliminary results obtained among present and retired workers, the relationship between hearing handicaps and QOL will be discussed.