Prevalencia de hipoacusia neurosensorial en pacientes con exposición a ruido laboral que acudieron al Centro Servicio Auditivo Social del cantón Gualaceo, período septiembre 2020 – septiembre 2022

Abstract

Background. Exposure to noise, equal to or greater than 85 dB, for a prolonged time causes damage to the ear, specifically in the hair cells and the cochlear membrane and leads to hearing loss; If exposure is continuous, the damage is progressive and may increase even after exposure ceases, since damage to the inner ear and auditory neural system is generally permanent. Objective. To determine by audiometry the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in patients with exposure to occupational noise who were evaluated at the Social Hearing Service Center of Gualaceo. Materials and methods. With a cross-sectional observational design, information was collected from the "NOAH Software System" database of people served in the period 2020 to 2022 who carried out activities under exposure to occupational noise and were evaluated by audiometry. With descriptive statistics and with the help of IBM-SPSS™ vers 22.0, the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss and its distribution according to sociodemographic characteristics were calculated: age, sex, residence, education, occupation, time of exposure and audiometric characteristics. An association was sought with the time of exposure to noise, age and occupation, by calculation of OR CI95%. The values of P < 0.05 were considered significant. Resultados. Information from 250 audiometry tests performed on the same number of patients was analyzed, with a median age of 45.5 years (P25 35.5 – P75 55.5); males 81.6%; urban residence 57.5%; secondary education 64.8% and main occupations: mining (26.4%) and masonry (19.6%). There was hearing loss in 39.6% of the population and the prevalence of sensorineural was 30%; the majority were mild (19.6%) and moderate (13.6%) with 20.4% bilateral. There was a significant association between sensorineural hearing loss and exposure to occupational noise ≥ 10 years [OR 14,8; IC95%(7,7 – 28,5), < 0,001], Age over 50 years [OR 14,8; IC95%(7,7 – 28,5), < 0,001] and mining work [OR 14,8; IC95%(7,7 – 28,5), < 0,001]. Conclusions. In the association of sensorineural hearing loss with the time of exposure to occupational noise and other demographic factors, our results are consistent with the reports of the specialized literature. By identifying the conditions that contribute to the increased likelihood of sensorineural hearing loss, this information may be beneficial for implementing preventive strategies for the benefit of the National Health System.