Increase in use of protective earplugs by Rock and Roll concert attendees when provided for free at concert venues

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing protection use among attendees of Rock and Roll concerts at baseline and in concerts where earplugs are provided for free at concert venue entrances. Design: Six concerts performed at two music venues in Toronto, Canada were evaluated. Study personnel observed and recorded the use of hearing protection at three concerts where no earplugs were distributed, and three concerts where earplugs were provided for free at the concert venue entrance. Study sample: A total of 955 individuals over the age of 18 were observed at six concerts. Six hundred and thirty-seven individuals (64% male) were observed at concerts where no earplugs were provided, and 318 individuals (68% male) were observed at concerts where free earplugs were provided. Results: Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated a significant increase in hearing protection usage at concerts where earplugs were provided for free at the concert venue entrance, odds ratio 7.27 (95% CI: 3.24–16.30). Conclusion: The provision of free earplugs at concert venues may be a simple and inexpensive intervention that could be a component of a larger public health campaign to prevent non-occupational noise-induced hearing loss.     

某煤矿接噪工人使用降噪耳塞效果分析

目的观察降噪耳塞对煤矿接噪工人噪声性听力损失的预防效果。方法以208名（416耳）佩戴3M1110子弹型带线耳塞3年的煤矿接噪工人为耳塞组,分析其3年前后纯音听阈测定结果,并与未佩戴耳塞的同单位接噪工人对照组进行比较。结果用SPSS18软件分析。结果耳塞组与对照组比较,佩戴耳塞前,两组听力差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）;佩戴耳塞3年后,两组听力差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。耳塞组佩戴降噪耳塞3年前后听力减退差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论降噪耳塞对保护煤矿接噪工人的听力,防止噪声性听力损失具有一定作用。     

Effect of the use of earplugs and eye masks on the quality of sleep after major abdominal surgery: a randomised controlled trial

Significant sleep disturbance can occur following major abdominal surgery. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of earplugs and eye masks in improving sleep quality and patient satisfaction, reducing nursing demands and in the incidence of delirium in patients after major abdominal surgery. We conducted a randomised controlled trial in 100 patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. We randomly allocated participants to sleep with or without earplugs and eye masks on postoperative days 1–3. The primary outcome measure was sleep quality as measured by the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction, frequency of nursing demand and incidence of delirium measured by the Neelon and Champagne Confusion Scale. Median (IQR [range]) sleep scores were 64 (38-74 [0-100] and 60 (44–82 [18–100]) for the control and intervention groups, respectively (p = 0.310). Age and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores were found to be significant factors affecting sleep quality. There were no differences in patient satisfaction, reduction in frequency of nursing demands or incidence of delirium on postoperative days 1–3 after major abdominal surgery. The compliance rate in the intervention group was 60–65%. This study has demonstrated that the use of earplugs and eye masks did not contribute to improvements in sleep quality. Of note, sleep quality was moderate, with higher age and worse baseline sleep quality contributing to worse sleep scores. More studies are needed to investigate interventions to improve sleep quality after major abdominal surgery.     

Earplugs and eye masks: do they improve critical care patients’ sleep?

Disturbed sleep and sleep deprivation is common in patients in critical care settings. Noise and inappropriate use of light/dark cycles are two of the causes of sleep interruptions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate eye masks and earplugs to help control patients' exposure to noise and light within the critical care environment. An intervention study using a two group post-test quasi-experimental design of high dependency patients within a cardiothoracic critical care unit was undertaken by a group of critical care nurses. Sleep assessment rating scales and open-ended questions were used to obtain patients' reported experiences of their sleep. Patients self-selected into either an intervention or non-intervention group. Sixty-four patients consented to take part in the study, 34 patients tried the interventions earplugs and eye masks and many found they improved sleep. However, noise was still a factor preventing sleep for both groups of patients. Mixed reports were found with the interventions from very comfortable to very uncomfortable. At a cost of 2.50 pounds sterling/patient, earplugs and eye masks were a relatively cheap intervention with notable improvements for some critically ill patients. Further research is required with a larger sample size, plus an examination of both earplugs and eye masks separately. Offering patient's earplugs and eye masks to improve sleep should be considered as a matter of routine nursing practice, this should include time to show patients how to use and try them out for comfort.