An evaluation of occupational and non-occupational noise exposures of persons living and working on farms during the planting season, growing season, and harvesting season is proposed as a pilot project to (i) characterize the noise exposures, (ii) assess the feasibility of the monitoring strategy, (iii) assess the compliance of participants with the monitoring strategy, and (iv) assess the quality of self-reported activities. This pilot project is being proposed in part due to the paucity of published data addressing this topic and in part as an initial investigation in a series of planned studies that will examine multiple exposures that may affect hearing such as solvents, diesel exhaust, and pesticides. Collaboration among the investigators at the MCO Department of Public Health and the OSU School of Public Health with the Agriculture Agents at the Ohio State University Extension in the six Northwest Ohio counties proposed for the pilot project will facilitate the recruitment of three farm households. Three to five residents in each farm household, including school-age children who can read, write, and tell time, plus adolescents, will be eligible for participation. The proposed monitoring strategy requires that participating household residents wear a pre-programmed noise dosimeter during all waking hours for seven consecutive days, three times during the project (once during planting season, once during growing season, and once during harvesting season). The project participants will also complete a daily time-activity checklist during each monitoring cycle. Additionally, a field investigator will visit each farm daily during each monitoring cycle, will record time-activity data on identical daily checklists, and will collect octave-band sound level measurements for noise sources encountered during the project. The dosimetry data will be analyzed along with the time-activity data to determine potential sources of any elevated noise exposures and to determine which activities are associated with the largest contribution to each participant's total noise exposure. Evaluations will also be performed to identify possible reasons for participants not completing the entire 21 days of monitoring and for participants not wearing the dosimeters during all waking hours. Accuracy of the time-activity data will also be assessed.
