The Effects of Noise Intensity and Duration of Exposure on Hearing Threshold of Students in Vocational High School 2 Banda Aceh

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by loud and continuous of noise exposure for a long time. Vocational high school students are a population at high risk of noise-induced hearing loss. This is due to exposure to noise from machines or practicum tools. The noise intensity from practicum tools or machines often exceeds the permissible threshold. Objective: To determine the effect of intensity and duration of noise exposure on hearing thresholds in students of Vocational high school 2 (SMKN 2) Banda Aceh. Method: This type of research is an observational analytic with a cross sectional design. The research sample was students of class XI and XII in the engineering and automotive department who were willing to participate in the research. The samples were interviewed and subjected to otoscopic and audiometric examinations. Room noise was rated with sound level meter. Results: 121 samples that met the inclusion criteria of this study. The majority of the sample in this study were 16 years old (47.9%), male (100%), were in the engineering department (75.2%), had never used ear protection (93.4%), were exposed to noise for 4-6 days a week (85.1%) and exposed to noise with an intensity of >85dB (75.2%). In this study it was found that noise intensity and duration of exposure to noise had an effect on the increase in hearing threshold (p=0.001). Conclusion: There is a relationship between noise intensity and duration of noise exposure to the hearing threshold.