Association between noise exposure and noise annoyance with communication skills and cognitive triad among mine workers, Iran

Background and aims: Noise has many psychological effects. Although different studies have so far focused on various psychological effects, they have not evaluated communication skills and cognitive triad. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of noise exposure and noise annoyance on communication skills and cognitive triad. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 65 workers in 2021. The equivalent sound level (LeqA) was determined using dosimetry. Based on LeqA, noise exposure was divided into permissible and impermissible types. Noise annoyance was measured by the numerical rating scale recommended by ISO/TS 15666:2003. The Communication Skills Questionnaire and Cognitive Triad Inventory were used for data collection. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 24 using an independent samples t test and Spearman correlation test. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age of workers was equal to 33.87 (±5.95) years. The results of the correlation test showed a positive and significant relationship between LeqA and noise annoyance (P<0.001, r=0.82). Based on the results of the independent samples t test, there was no significant difference in the scores of communication skills (P=0.11) and cognitive triad (P=0.93) in the two groups. Conclusion: In this study, a positive and significant relationship was found between noise exposure and noise annoyance. In addition, communication and cognitive skills were not significantly different in the two study groups. To accurately determine the relationships of variables, it is recommended to conduct similar studies with larger sample sizes while considering variables such as personality traits and social intelligence.