Impacto do ruído na ocorrência de queixas vestibulares e gástricas em trabalhadores industriais

Abstract

Background: Noise is the third leading cause of environmental pollution, which can lead to several consequences for human health. Among them, the literature describes the possibility of causing vestibular and gastric symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, fainting, vomiting, stomach problems and balance difficulties. Aim: To investigate the impact of noise on the occurrence of balance and gastric complaints in industrial workers in the Metropolitan Region of João Pessoa/PB. Method: This is a retrospective, observational, analytical and cross sectional study with a quantitative approach. The data analyzed in this study were collected in ¹ Graduando em Fonoaudiologia pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. ² Fonoaudiólogo. Doutor em Linguística pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Professor Associado I do Departamento de Fonoaudiologia da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. three industries in the Metropolitan Region of João Pessoa (PB) between the years 2016 and 2019. 965 people, of both sexes, were part of the study, 393 workers exposed to noise (experimental group) and 572 subjects not exposed to noise (control group). For the study, variables related to the characterization of the sample, socioeconomic data and non-auditory complaints of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fainting, stomach problems and balance difficulties were analyzed. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Lauro Wanderley University Hospital of the Federal University of Paraíba (CEP/HULW/UFPB), under opinion No. 2,164,722. Results: Among the surveyed complaints, a statistically significant relationship was verified between exposure to noise and the occurrence of complaints of dizziness (p<0.001), nausea (p<0.001), vomiting (p<0.001), stomach problems (p< 0.001) and difficulty with balance (p=0.003), that is, a greater occurrence of such complaints in the experimental group. The complaint of fainting did not show a statistically significant relationship (p=0.370). Conclusion: There was a significant association between the occurrence of complaints of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, stomach problems and balance difficulties and exposure to noise. The same did not occur in relation to the fainting complaint. It is clear, therefore, that exposure to noise can cause considerable damage to health, which go beyond the auditory effects, affecting structures that can cause vestibular and gastric symptoms.