Objective To investigate the status of hearing loss, especially the high frequency hearing loss, among noise-exposed welding workers in Nantong City and provide the basis for the prevention and control.

Methods The study objects were the noise-exposed welding workers in Nantong City, of whose data on occupational health examination in 2017 were collected and hearing loss were analyzed.

Results The rate of high-frequency hearing loss(13.94%)in 3 265 welding workers was significantly higher than that of speech frequency hearing loss(9.40%)(P < 0.01). The rates of decreased hearing threshold, high-frequency and speech frequency, in the left ears were higher than those in the right ears (P < 0.01). The auditory thresholds of left ears in 500 Hz, 2 000 Hz, 3 000 Hz, 6 000 Hz, high-frequency and speech frequency were higher than that of right ears(P < 0.001). The result of logistic regression showed that male workers exposed to noise had a higher risk of high-frequency hearing loss than female workers (OR=1.840, P < 0.01). Age was a risk factor for high-frequency hearing loss (OR=1.073, P < 0.01). The employment time was a risk factor for high-frequency hearing loss and the workers with employment time more than 10 years had higher risk of high frequency hearing loss than that with less than 5 years (OR=1.490, P < 0.01).

Conclusion The hearing loss in the left ears of welders in Nantong City was more serious than that in the right ears. The harm of noise to the hearing of welding workers in Nantong City cannot be ignored. Enterprises should reduce the noise level, strengthen the health education of workers, equip workers with qualified personal noise protective equipment, and conduct regular health monitoring to protect workers' hearing.