PURPOSE: To investigate audiologic findings and auditory-related complaints of urban bus drivers. METHODS: The sample comprised 24 bus drivers from the city of Francisco Beltrão (PR, Brazil), with average age of 44 years and three months, and total time of exposition to traffic noise of 18.8 years, in average. An anamnesis was carried out, with questions referring to general and hearing health history, lifestyle and occupational history. Subsequently, pure tone audiometry and speech perception tests were performed. The results of the audiometry were analyzed according to the Resolution 19 of the Ministry of Labor (1998). RESULTS: Regarding the problems that affect hearing, 66.6% of the drivers did not report hearing difficulties; 29.2% reported tinnitus, and 12.3% reported occasional sensation of aural fullness. Pure tone audiometry showed that 70% of the participants had results suggestive of noise induced hearing loss. The most affected frequencies were 4 and 6 kHz, characterizing bilateral noise induced notch in 83.3% of the cases. CONCLUSION: This study showed a need for the development of preventive actions towards hearing health, in order to promote improvements on work conditions and hearing preservation of bus drivers.
Noise effects; Hearing loss, Noise-induced; Noise, occupational; Noise, transportation; Medical history taking; Habits; Occupational exposure; Audiometry; Hearing tests
