Objective To apply the Swedish Hasson's hearing scale to locomotive drivers in China for the first time, explore its applicability, and identify hearing problems and influencing factors.
Methods A total of 2 557 locomotive drivers of Kunming, Guangtong, and Kaiyuan locomotive depots in Kunming Railway Bureau were asked to complete the Swedish Hasson's hearing scale and a self-administered questionnaire from July to September in 2014. Only 2 045 drivers with a working age greater than 3 years and without hearing loss and deafness by non-occupational causes were recruited in this study. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze demographic characteristics and possible influencing factors of hearing problems.
Results All the 2045 participants were male. The average age was (39.85±6.79) years, the average working age was (18.00±11.00) years, and electric locomotive drivers accounted for 61.96%. The rate of hearing problems was 69.6%, the rate of communication difficulty (hearing loss) was 45.5%, the rate of tinnitus was 63.4%, the rate of tinnitus distress was 49.7%, and the rate of continuous tinnitus was 57.9%. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the number of post changed, educational level, and lo comotive driver type were the main factors of hearing problems affecting the drivers. Those who did not change their posts, electric lo comotive drivers, and those with lower educational levels were more likely to have hearing problems. The reliability and validity of the scale were high, with a Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.803.
Conclusion Hasson's hearing scale is first applied to locomotive drivers of China with a high reliability and validity. Several in fluencing factors are found. This simple and easy scale is advantaged in large population screening and initial screening for hearing problems. The hearing problems of selected locomotive drivers call for more attention.
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