Indices of vertebral vein discirculation in workers in noise occupaions

Introduction. Occupational sensorineural hearing loss (OSNHL) is a gradual bilateral hearing loss developing over several years as a result of exposure to constant or non-constant noise (mainly high-frequency) at the workplace as one of the main causes in etiology, researchers name a violation of blood supply and vascular stenosis. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the indices of venous dyscirculation under the influence of industrial noise at the early stages of the development of OSNHL.

Materials and methods. Twenty two male patients who have been working in conditions exceeding the maximum permissible noise levels for more than 5 years were examined, and the comparison group included 29 healthy male volunteers from 27 to 55 years old who do not work in the production sector. All the subjects were examined by an otorhinolaryngologist, a neurologist, and a therapist. Audiometry was performed on two axes for everyone. Air and bone conduction were performed separately for each ear. All patients underwent a triplex scan of the arteries and veins of the neck and brain in the supine and standing positions.

Results. In comparison with the control group of healthy volunteers who did not work in industrial noise conditions, workers in noise occupations had a significant increase in blood flow, which averaged 25.2 cm/sec. When measuring the diameters of the vertebral veins, a tendency to vasodilation was revealed.

Limitations. The limitation was the small sample size, due to the low patient turnover at the preclinical stage.

Conclusion. The complex effect of noise on the body leads to changes in the wall of the venous network, a violation of venous outflow and can manifest itself not only with clinical complaints, but also in the form of episodic dizziness, cephalgia, which in turn can worsen the course of the development of OSNHL. It is necessary to perform ultrasound dopplerography of the neck veins for all workers of noise occupations at the preclinical stage to assess the risk of OSNHL occurrence.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was conducted in compliance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association. The minutes of the meeting of the Local Ethics Committee of the Northwestern Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health No. 2022/50.1 dated 12/28/2022 were received.

Contribution:
Kuprina N.I. – the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, statistical processing, writing a text, editing;
Petrova M.D. – processing of material, writing a text;
Shilov V.V., Nikanov A.N. – responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version;
Okuneva E.Yu., Sleptsov R.V. – processing of material, writing a text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 6, 2024 / Revised: August 1, 2024 / Accepted: June 19, 2024 / Published: September 10, 2024