Avaliação do sistema vestibulococlear de trabalhadores de uma indústria gráfica de Santa Maria expostos a ruído ocupacional

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate auditory and vestibular system of a printing office workers in Santa Maria/RS exposed to occupational noise. The studied group was composed by 15 workers, being 13 of the male gender and two of the female gender. The age ranged from 22 to 56 (average = 44) years and occupational noise exposure average time was 21 years and four months. All individuals were evaluated in the Otology Health Clinic of HUSM. After having signed the free permission term the individuals answered a questionnaire and were underwent to external ear canal visual inspection, auditory and vestibular assessments. The main complaints mentioned were headache (53,33%), dizziness, stress, irritability, memory lack (46,67% each), anxiety (40%) and tinnitus (33,34%). One person refered rarely use of hearing protector. It can be concluded that 50% of ears presented auditory alteration and 40% of individuals showed vestibular system alteration diagnosed as irritative peripheral vestibular dysfunction. We suggest the continuity of researches with subjects exposed to occupational noise, not only for diagnostic finality but also to drive preventive actions to workers health, including orientation and guiding, and therefore promoting better quality of life.