Study on hearing loss among traffic police in India

Indian cities are regularly cited among some of the noisiest in the world, often because of construction but importantly also because of traffic congestion and driving behavior. Manish Munjal, who is Head of the ENT Department at the DMCH is to lead the study and said that a similar investigation in Mumbai, Maharashtra inspired him to conduct the research enrolling Ludhiana traffic officers.

“The Mumbai study reveals that a majority of the traffic cops have poor ear health because of their long exposure to traffic noise, especially pressure horns. Considering this, we feel such a survey should also be conducted in Ludhiana as there is no dearth of traffic here,” Munjal told the Hindustan Times. He added that a detailed proposal for the research will be submitted once the green light is given by Police Commissioner RN Dhoke for some of the city’s 215 traffic cops to participate. The police authorities believe this is a very good idea, says the report.

Munjal explained that the study will divide the policemen into groups and tests will take place on different dates. The results will be compiled to find out the core reasons for poor hearing health. The study will also look for high-level noise zones in the city and offer preventive measures to officers to prevent ear damage.

Source: Hindustan Times