Hearing loss and automobile airbag deployments

In an on-going research program, on the causation of injuries in motor vehi cle accidents, at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Instit ute, crashes with airbags have been, and are continuing to be, investigated . In order to determine the occurrence, if any, of 'hearing problems' assoc iated with airbag deployments, drivers and passengers who had been involved in 'airbag' automobile crashes were interviewed by telephone. From the cra shes investigated, 225 attempts were made to contact drivers who were expos ed to airbag deployments. From these telephone interviews, contacts were ma de with 177 car occupants. Only three reported that they had experienced an y type of hearing-related problems subsequent to their crash. One other cas e is reported of a driver who had pre-crash hearing loss. It appears that p ermanent hearing deficit due to airbag deployment, both in cars with the st eering wheel airbag alone, and in those with a passenger side airbag, is an infrequent event (1.7%) from the data of this study. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.