Dependency of Temporary Threshold Shift of Vibratory Sensation in Fingertip on 1/3 Octave-Band Hand-Arm Vibration Exposure Period

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To investigate the dependency of temporary threshold shift of vibratoty sensation (TTSv) in fingertip on hand-arm vibration exposure period. Methods: Six healthy students were instructed to grip a vibrating or nonvibrating handle in the experimental room. The gripping force was 40 N. The vibratory sensation threshold at 125 Hz was measured before and after the exposure in the exposed middle fingertip. The exposure vibration was vertical and the 1/3 octave-band vibration with had a central frequency of 200 Hz and an intensity of 39.2 m/s2. The exposure periods were 8, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 600 s. TTSv, t was evaluated as the difference in vibratory sensation threshold between immediately before and t seconds after the exposure. Results: TTSv recovered exponentially as in several previous studies and its use enabled us to estimate the time constant and TTSv, 0. TTSv, 0 with vibration exposure was significantly larger than that without it. The regression analysis of the relationship between vibration exposure period (T) and TTSv, 0 (T) for each subject confirmed the good fit of the equation TTSv, 0 (T) = B0 + B1 * Log10 (T), where B0 and B1 are the calculated constants (adjusted R2 = 0.56 − 0.87). The time constants did not show such a clear dose effect relationship of exposure period as TTSv, 0. Conclusion: The dependency of TTSv, 0 on vibration exposure period was asymptotically proportional to the logarithm of gripping period. To more quantitatively confirm the relationship of the time constants for recovering time course of TTSv, it maybe necessary to improve the measurement method for TTSv.