Investigation Of Noise Annoyance And Noise Sensitivity Among Miners In A Mechanized Underground Mining Operation

Creative Commons License

Yağcı M.

Türk Doğa ve Fen Dergisi, cilt.15, sa.2, ss.100-110, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

In the mining sector, which is classified as highly hazardous, the number of noise sources and consequently the noise level in the environment are increasing with the transition to mechanization. While mechanized vehicles have different noise levels, prolonged exposure to this noise can pose a direct risk to miners. Noise annoyance, associated with negative noise experiences is related to the amount of noise exposure. Noise sensitivity is a genetically inherited personality trait unrelated to exposure to noise. This research aims to determine whether the noise annoyance and sensitivity of miners differ from the general population and to examine their relationships with environmental and individual variables. This study is a cross-sectional, conducted on miners in a mechanized underground mine and male office workers with non-mining occupations. Volunteers who aged 20-60 years without any otological and neurological problems. Demographic information, noise annoyance, exposure data and the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale results were analyzed. Analysis of the total sensitivity scale scores revealed a significant difference between the control and study groups. Miners had statistically significantly higher total sensitivity scores compared to those in the control group (p=0.044). Although not significantly different from the control group, the average score for miners with noise sensitivity is 90.05 ± 6.65. In conclusion, it is recommended to increase noise awareness among miners, provide appropriate job placement for individuals with noise sensitivity and implement other control measures.