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Organic solvent exposure and hearing loss
Correspondence to:
Professor Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska, Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 8 St Teresa Street, 91–348, Lodz, Poland; marsliw@imp.lodz.pl
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Organic solvents are frequent air contaminants in industry and are found, for example, in paints, lacquers and printing inks. They are used in the production of furniture, plastics, fibres and rubber tyres. Over recent decades several studies in animals and humans have reported upon the effects of these substances on the auditory system and their interaction with noise. Potentially, this issue has significant socio-economic implications, as the chemical industry is the third largest industry in Europe, employing 1.7 million people directly and with 3 million jobs depending on it.
Studies on rats suggest that several organic solvents, for example, styrene and toluene, damage the cochlea (predominantly the supporting and outer hair cells (OHCs)) resulting in mid-frequency hearing loss.1 Retrocochlear or central hearing damage, although likely, has not been demonstrated clearly so far. Styrene can increase noise damage at levels as low as 300 ppm, and toluene at 1100 ppm. These
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Occup. Environ. Med. 2008 65: 230-235.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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