I. EXPOSICION A RUIDO OCUPACIONAL Y SU INCIDENCIA EN LA SALUD AUDITIVA DE TRABAJADORES DE LA INDUSTRIA METALMECÁNICA

Abstract

To refer to the assessment of noise events in the workplace along with the impact on hearing
integrity in workers in a company dedicated to the transformation of metal parts in the city
of Cartagena. For this work to be carried out, a descriptive form has been contemplated, with
cross-sectional data collection in a company of this type carried out in the capital of the
department of Bolivar in mid-2023. The unit of analysis of the present study was made up of
15 workers exposed to occupational noise. Sonometry was carried out through the Casella
brand sound level meter, model CEL- 24X, which complies with the ISO 9612:2009 standard
previously calibrated, on the other hand, audiometry tests on 15 workers using a MAICO
MA 42 audiometer in a soundproof cabin. according to the GATI-HNIR 2006 criteria of the
Ministry of Social Protection.
Regarding the measurement of the noise level, it was initially carried out with work analysis
through previous observations, interviews with the production manager and workers, in
which it allowed us to identify the jobs where noise is generated, the different activities. and
tasks of the organization's process, for selecting the most appropriate measurement strategy
and measurement plan. Five calculations were made according to the noise evaluated
randomly during the work. whose results were 82.2 dB(A) as the minimum and 101.2 dB(A)
as the maximum value. Then, the average sound pressure was determined, taking the timeweighted A (Lp,A,T) in each activity of the process in order to establish the magnitude of the
risk based on Resolution 1792 of 1990 Ministry of Labor, Regarding With the impact on
hearing health due to prolonged exposure to high levels of noise at work, 45.7% of workers
have mild hearing loss and 6.67% have moderate hearing loss in accordance with what is
stated in the National Institute for the Occupational Safety and Health of the year 1998.