Impacto da exposição ao ruído e tolueno na saúde auditiva de trabalhadores de uma indústria do ramo de calçados

Abstract

Introduction: The noise, the biggest cause of hearing loss in occupational environment, brings with itself other aggravating factors, such as toluene. Prolonged exposure to high-intensity noise can cause irreversible hearing loss by destroying the outer hair cells of the cochlea, something quite similar to what happens in ototoxicity, which may appear with exposure to toluene. Studies suggest that concomitant

1 Graduando em Fonoaudiologia pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. 2 Fonoaudióloga do Trabalho. Mestre em Engenharia de Produção pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. 3 Fonoaudiólogo do Trabalho. Doutor em Linguística pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Professor Adjunto III do Departamento de Fonoaudiologia da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. exposure to both agents may cause more severe hearing changes than only one. Aim: To investigate the impact of noise and toluene on workers’ auditory health in an industry of footwear and sports materials. Method: The study was done through audiometric data of 729 workers of a footwear company, who had a Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) deployed and under execution, with three groups: exposed to toluene and noise, exposed to noise alone and non exposed. A cross over between variables, type and time of exposure to agents and sex was performed. The study was approved by Ethical Committee of Hospital Universitário Lauro Wanderley under number 2.164.722. Results: There was no statistically significant relationship between the mean auditory thresholds and the groups studied. Among the exposed workers, there was a positive but negligible correlation between time and auditory thresholds, the latter being significantly higher in males. Conclusion: In the studied company, there was no significant differences in auditory thresholds of workers exposed to noise alone, exposed to noise and toluene, and not exposed. With these results, it was possible to observe that the toluene control, together with the HCP implement, can bring positive results to combat auditory alterations in occupational environments that present one or more agents harmful to hearing. Key-words: Noise, toluene, ototoxicity, occupational hearing loss