Hygienic competence of military personnel of the artillery detachments in the sphere of application of hearing protective equipment
The use of small arms, close combat weapons, artillery pieces by the Armed Forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense is widespread when completing combat training missions. Consequently, there is a special challenge of adverse effects of intense impulse noise on the body of military personnel. This situation necessitates the development of practical proposals aimed at the preservation of health of military personnel. The eighty three military personnel aged 19-45 years, doing contract military service in one of the artillery units, have completed the anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire contained groups of questions presenting acoustic load, level of hygiene knowledge, use of hearing protective equipment, subjective sensations after shooting, history of acute acoustic trauma, attendance of treatment facilities and so on. It is established that all the soldiers were taking part in the firing of small arms, artillery shells or rocket-propelled grenade, no personal protective equipment hearing organ. During the shooting, only 20 (24,1%) military personnel used protective equipment (headphones, earphones). After firing, the signs of adverse effects of impulse noise on the body have been detected among 76,2% military personnel (who did not use any protective equipment): tingling, fullness, tinnitus up to one day. The following defects of the used hearing protective equipment have been noted: low efficiency, reduction of clarity of speech and commands, pressure of headphones on the parotid area and so on. To prevent the adverse effects of impulse noise, it has been offered to provide the military personnel with effective protective equipment, to improve the hygienic knowledge of military personnel, to convince them of the mandatory use of hearing protective equipment during firing, to implement personal responsibility for the refusal of their application.