Tinnitus, noise and health effects in preschool environments

The study included 93 employees at 17 preschools in the county of Umeå located in northern part of Sweden. Personal daily noise dosimeter recordings were made at five representative work days. Stationary noise recordings were made during the same days at two departments of each preschool, in the playing halls and in the dining rooms. Besides audiometric tests, the employees rated their experiences of the noise, hearing and tinnitus as well as well as different health effects, on validated questionnaires. Tinnitus was reported among 31 per cent of the participants. The study group was dichotomized into employees with or without tinnitus. Employees with tinnitus reported higher prevalence of subjective hearing loss, higher experiences of elevated sound levels at work, anxiety of the noise at work, chest pressure/pain, burn out symptoms, depression and reduced sleep quality. Significant differences were seen for shoulder tension/pain. No group differences were seen for the objective personal or stationary noise measures or the number of children present at the department. The results of the study are discussed in terms of underlying causes and the way in which the symptom interfere with experiences and health effects of the employees.