Association between Noise Exposure and Noise Disturbance in Construction Workers

Background: Noise as one of the common hazardous factors in the work environments, causes adverse effects on the mental health of individuals in addition to physical problems. This study was conducted to measure the exposure of workers to noise in a construction workshop and assess its association with noise disturbance. Methods: A total of 96 employees of a construction workshop were considered in this study and were divided into four working groups: executive, administrative, supervisory and machinery. Noise exposure of workers assessed according to ISO 9612: 2009. The noise disturbance questionnaire was also completed by participants. Results: The results obtained from the noise exposure measurement showed that the mean of equivalent sound level in employees of administration section was 82.28, in administrative section was 66.52, in supervisory section was 76.43 and in machinery section was 78.45 dB. The results of noise disturbance showed that 25% of workers rated noise in the work environment as very disturbing. The results of regression analysis showed that the type of occupation associated with disturbance of subjects with correlation coefficient of 0.413. Conclusion: According to the results of dosimetry and self-reported disturbance, the noise exposure level and noise disturbance of work environment due to sound sources are high. Administrative solutions need to be provided to reduce the exposure of workers to noise.

Keywords:

Noise exposure , Noise disturbance , Construction industry , Occupational exposure