Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2014; 18 - a2514
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1389061

Audiological Behavior of Speech Pathology Students

Isadora Gonçalves Pelissari 1, Amanda Castro 1, Diéllen Wegner 1, Jordana Folgearini 1, Michele Vargas Garcia 1, Valdete Alves Valentins dos Santos Filha 1
  • 1Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Introduction: The course of speech demand professionals able to prevent, assess, and treat communication disorders, therefore requires that they possess the peripheral and central hearing in its entirety. As a large part of the course are young students, with the possibility to be users of electronic devices (earphones coupled to cell phones, mp3). Viewed is needed to carry out basic hearing assessment in students who have recently entered the undergraduate for possible guidance preventive. It is known that these devices can expose the individual to high sound pressure levels, since the maximum capacity of this equipment are around 90 to 120 dB, and that the intensity associated to a few hours during a specific exposure time can bring the user of these devices an irreversible sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: To perform basic hearing assessment in students from the speech pathology course, which recently entered the undergraduate and provide preventive guidelines.

Methods: This study is descriptive and quantitative character transversal. A sample was composed of 30 students, aged 17 to 29 years, with a mean age of 20.6 years. The students were submitted to audiologic anamneses, which contains information about complaints, audiological history, diseases, medication use, family history of hearing loss, smoking, alcohol, exposure to noise and use of electronic devices, visual inspection of the external acoustic meatus, pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and acoustic immittance measures.

Results: Of the 30 students evaluated, 3 had hearing complaints (understanding difficulty), 3 reported having tinnitus, 5 dizziness reported having, 20 mentioned using electronic devices, 6 reported having a family member with hearing loss.

Conclusion: We conclude that the most important number was the use of electronic devices. Was provided about hearing health, aiming at prevention.