Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding the auditory effects of noise.

The objectives of the present study were to (i) estimate noise levels at major traffic junctions in Bengaluru City, and (ii) assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen deputed at those junctions towards the auditory effects caused by noise pollution. The present questionnaire based study was carried among 60 traffic policemen. Road traffic noise was measured at different places in Bengaluru city using Sound level meter and it ranged from 71.2 to 91 dB. The questionnaire included the questions regarding the self assessment of the policemen about their hearing ability, past and present exposure to loud sound and the use of personal protective devices such as ear plugs and ear muffs. The questionnaire was filled by the subjects and the data was analyzed. The mean age was 42.2 +/- 7.4 years and the mean year of exposure was 10.82 +/- 8.53 yrs. Only 3.33% of the subjects felt that their hearing ability was below average. Thirteen subjects reported that they usually missed some conversation over phone while 25% reported similar condition while talking to someone in crowd. 16.66% had work related tinnitus (> once a day) and experienced it more during working hours. None of them used ear plugs/ear muffs and the reason for non-usage was nonavailability (100%). The self assessment of hearing by traffic policemen suggests that most of the traffic policemen have normal hearing. However, a systematic study with Audiometry of these subjects is recommended.