Occupational and environmental medicine
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Occupational exposure to noise and the attributable burden of hearing difficulties in Great Britain.
To determine the prevalence of self reported hearing difficulties and tinnitus in working aged people from the general population, and to estimate the risks from occupational exposure to noise and the number of attributable cases nationally. ⋯ Significant hearing difficulties and tinnitus are quite common in men from the older working age range. Both are strongly associated with years spent in a noisy occupation--a predominantly male exposure. The national burden of hearing difficulties attributable to noise at work is substantial.