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The Aim of the Study: To assess speech recognition in users of mono- and binaural hearing aids (HA) with dynamic environment control system (DECS)., Material and Methods: 25 HA users with symmetrical bilateral moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss and 10 individuals with normal hearing underwent speech audiometry in a free sound field by listening to an adaptive Russian matrix sentence test with a background noise. The testing was conducted for hearing impaired patients with one and two HA. The Speech Recognition Thresholds in noise (SRT N ) using HA with DESC and using HA without DESC were compared. The dichotic digits test and the rapidly alternating speech perception test were performed to evaluate the central auditory system function., Results: The SRT N in normal hearing listeners was -16.4±1.9 dB SNR. In the case of monaural using HA without DESC the SRT N was -2.5±4.4 dB SNR, using HA with DESC it was -5.8±4.0 dB SNR; in the case of using binaural HAs it was -6.3±3.8 dB SNR and -9.9±3.1 dB SNR accordingly., Conclusions: HAs with Dynamic Environment Control System are highly effective for speech perception in noisy environments. Binaural HA use is more effective than monaural HA use regardless of HA model. Speech recognition in noisy environments in cases of binaural HA use correlates significantly with results of tests assessing the central auditory system function.

Objective: To validate the Russian matrix sentence test (RUMatrix) for the assessment of speech recognition in quiet and in noise in clinical praxis. The effect of hearing impairment, age, and masking-noise level on speech recognition was examined., Design: All participants underwent pure tone audiometry, a monosyllabic speech test in quiet, and speech recognition measurements with RUMatrix in quiet (SRT Q ) and in noise (SRT N )., Study Sample: One hundred and forty-two listeners divided into four groups: 1. Young normal-hearing listeners, 2. Older normal-hearing listeners, 3. Young hearing-impaired listeners, and 4. Older hearing-impaired listeners., Results: Significant differences between groups of listeners were found in the SRT Q and SRT N . A strong correlation between hearing threshold and SRT Q (R 2 =0.88, p  < 0.001) indicates a strong link between speech recognition in quiet and audibility. The pure-tone average explained less variance in SRT N (R 2 =0.67, p  < 0.001), pointing out an additional influence of suprathreshold distortion. A high test sensitivity of 0.99 was found for SRT N and SRT Q . The monosyllabic test had a low sensitivity (0.21), indicating that the test is not suitable for separating normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners., Conclusions: RuMatrix is a reliable speech recognition assessment tool with a high sensitivity and validity for the main aspects of hearing impairment.

The article presents studies evaluating influence of chemical and noise exposure on public health in municipal district of Voronizh city, based on risk evaluation methodology. Comparative analysis covered levels of carcinogenic, non-carcinogenic and normalized risks in monitoring control sites of the district. The studies revealed <> territories within the city, defined critical organs and systems under unfavorable influence by studied environmental factors.

Mining industry is characterized by hazardous work conditions that determine high risk of occupational morbidity. The article presents results of hygienic evaluation of work conditions and health risk for workers of Tashtagolsk mining enterprise in Kemerovo region, due to exposure to occupational hazards: noise, dust level, toxic chemicals. The authors present structure of occupational groups in mining industry, based on values of occupational factors, and taxonomic index characterizing overall risk level connected with occupational hazards.

The authors discuss the problems pertaining to the growing incidence of hearing impairment in the members of the flying staff employed in commercial aviation of Russia and the main criteria used to elucidate the causes behind occupational diseases of the organs of hearing. Special attention is given to the principal normative documents regulating the methodological basis on which the acoustic factor in the aircraft cockpit is evaluated, peculiarities of occupational sensorineural hearing impairment and the methods for its detection. The main errors in the determination of the relationship between the working conditions and the diseases of the organs of hearing are discussed.

Study on health status of 156 Vietnamese military pilots on Russian modern jet planes (Su-22, Su-27, Su-30, MiG-21B). The results showed that unprofitable factors in working environment (acceleration, radiation, high temperature, humidity, noise) have an impact on the health of pilots during the flight, leading to deterioration of professional health and physiological functions (cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous system) and obesity of pilots after 35 years old. Basing on the studies, we suggested some measures for health protecting, safety of flight and prolonging flight-activity of pilots (training in decompression chamber, vestibular training) and balance in food ration for prevention of professional diseases.

The hygienic aspects of the location of wind-mill electric generating plants become more pressing due to the intensive development of wind-power engineering. Possible risk factors from wind-mill electric generating plants that can influence the environment and the population are considered. A 400-m control area is recommended on the basis of the made calculations of an acoustic and electromagnetic pollution area, an exposure area during emergency situations, as well the field measuring data on noise from wind-mill electric generating plants with a capacity of 20 MW, by applying 100-kW wind-mill electric generating units. Further studies are proposed to improve the differentiated sizes of control areas for wind-mill electric generating plants with wind-mill electric generating units of varying capacity.

Working conditions at more versus less advanced technology steel plants of the Volgograd Region are analyzed. The working conditions at the less advanced technology plants are referred to as a very high occupational risk. It is necessary to work out measures to lower the poor impact of microclimate, dust, noise, to improve illumination, and to regulate labor at steel plants.

Polling technique helped to study importance of industrial and nonindustrial noise for able-bodied humans, influence of the noise on health and general feeling. The authors demonstrated increased share of working population exposed constantly to intensive noise at work, or at the house, or both. Finding was strong correlation between presence of noise at workplace and general feeling of the worker, high value of harm produced by industrial and household noise in individuals with impaired hearing.

Acoustic measurements made in the ISS RS as a part of the ground assembly testing and during ISS increment-I showed that noise at the RS workplaces was 1.3 to 4.8 dBA higher than during the assembly testing and exceeded the MIR noise values by 2.4 to 5.0 dBA. Comparison of the MIR and ISS RS acoustic environment revealed that most often inadmissible noise was characteristic of the same locations, i.e close to the air conditioner and system Vozdukh. Noise measurements in the Service Module crew quarters did not diverge significantly from results of the ground testing, and MIR noise monitoring. These data verified the necessity for spacecraft designers to predict noise levels and select noise-suppressing methods already on the phase of research and development.

The given information classifies the protection means and methods containing the known for today and prospective decisions, as well as process elements of development, creation and testing of these means Presented as whole, these protection group comprise all the possible aspects of the service-men safety problem in operation of military equipment objects, being the source of non-ionizing radiation.

Transport noise affects dwellers, changing functional state of central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Combination of noise and vibration induces changes that are more severe.

Eight six women 19-60 years of age working as weavers for 1 to 30 years were examined to detect early preclinical neurosensory hypoacusis in weavers continuously exposed to noise and vibration and to clarify correlations between severity of hearing dysfunction and duration of service. The examination consisted of clinical and comprehensive audiological tests (tonal threshold audiometry in the range 125-20,000 Hz, determination of ultrasound waves' threshold and laterization). It was found that some forms of hypoacusis manifest with elevated hearing thresholds, primarily 12,000-20,000 Hz, while standard tonal threshold audiometry fails to register deviation from normal values. This enables, on the one hand, detection of early preclinical forms of neurosensory hypoacusis undetectable by standard audiometry and differentiating some forms of hearing disorders, on the other hand. Thus, disturbances of autonomic and central nervous systems preceed hypoacusis presenting as asthenovegetative and neurotic syndromes, dysfunction of peripheral vessels and other systems.

Method of assessment of ecological and hygienic risk is based on complex assessment of environmental pollution, study of its influence on the state of health taking in view of the prenosologic changes in the body, and determination of causal connections in the system "population-environment".

The main hazardous occupational factors in sand and gravel mixture processing include siliceous dust contamination of the air, noise, vibration, intensive labour overload, and unfavourable microclimate conditions. The workers examined displayed exceeding general and occupational health disorders (silicosis, silicotuberculosis, dust bronchitis, cohlear neuritis).