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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2020; 24(04): e503-e507
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1702969
Original Research

Is the Level of Noise in a School Environment be Harmful to the Hearing of Teachers?

Gabriela Guenther Ribeiro Novanta 
1   Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, Centro Universitário Planalto do Distrito Federal (UNIPLAN), Brasília, DF, Brazil
,
Sergio Luiz Garavelli 
2   Division of Engineering, Centro Universitário de Brasília (UNICEUB), Brasília, DF, Brazil
,
Andre Luiz Lopes Sampaio
3   Laboratory of Otorhinolaringology Research, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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Abstract

Introduction The excessive noise observed in the school environment can cause damages or losses to the learning process as well as risks to the health of teachers and students, such as physical, mental and social impairments, including, among them, hearing loss.

Objective To assess otoacoustic emissions in teachers and determine whether classroom noise reduces distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Method Sixty-seven teachers were evaluated using otoacoustic emissions testing in two situations: after hearing rest and after the working day.

Results Signal amplitude (p = 0.044 [2 kHz]; p = 0.01 [4 kHz]) and SNR for frequencies of 2 kHz (p = 0.008) and 4 kHz (p = 0.001) decreased significantly between time points. Mean classroom noise was associated with the magnitude of the difference in signal amplitude at 2 kHz (p = 0.017) and 4 kHz (p = 0.015), and SNR at 4 kHz (p = 0.023).

Conclusions There was a decrease in the amplitude and in the SNR after exposure to the noise in the classroom environment. The high levels of sound pressure that teachers are exposed to on a daily basis can cause a temporary change in the outer hair cells of the Corti organ, and these changes may become permanent over time.

Keywords

noise - faculty - otoacoustic emissions - spontaneous


Publication History

Received: 04 April 2019

Accepted: 21 December 2019

Article published online:
24 April 2020

© .

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

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