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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

W. Ayed
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
D. Brahim
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
I. Yaich
Affiliation:
2Forensic Psychiatry department, Razi Hospital, La Manouba
C. Bensaid
Affiliation:
2Forensic Psychiatry department, Razi Hospital, La Manouba
L. Houissa*
Affiliation:
3Occupational pathology and fitness for work department Charles Nicolle hospital, Faculty of medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
N. Mechergui
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
H. Bensaid
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
M. Mersni
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
G. Bahri
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
I. Youssef
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
M. Bani
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
N. Bram
Affiliation:
2Forensic Psychiatry department, Razi Hospital, La Manouba
N. Ladhari
Affiliation:
1Occupational pathology and fitness for work, Charles Nicolle Hospital
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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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 People suffering from hearing problems find it increasingly difficult to communicate and become withdrawn.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

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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