Hearing symptoms personal stereos

Int. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;16(2):163-169. DOI: 10.7162/S1809-97772012000200003 Original Article Hearing symptoms personal stereos Sintomas auditivos em usuários de estéreos pessoais Tiara Santos da Luz1, Ana Lúcia Vieira de Freitas Borja2. 1) Graduation in Phonoaudiology. Phonoaudiologist. 2) Master in Medicine and Health Human being for the Bahiana Foundation for the Development of Sciences, FBDC, Brazil. Professor of the Federal University of the Bahia. Institution: Federal University of the Bahia - Institute of the Science of the Health. Salvador / BA - Brazil. Mailing address: Tiara Santos da Luz - August Viana Street - Quarter: Vale do Canela - Salvador / BA - Brazil - Zip-code: 40110-060 - Telephone: (+55 71) 8628-7013 - E-mail: Article received in June 15, 2011. Article approved in November 14, 2011. SUMMARY RESUMO Introduction: Practical and portable the personal stereos if had become almost indispensable accessories in the day the day. Studies disclose that the portable players of music can cause auditory damages in the long run for who hear music in high volume for a drawn out time. Objective: to verify the prevalence of auditory symptoms in users of amplified players and to know its habits of use Method: Observational prospective study of transversal cut carried through in three institutions of education of the city of Salvador BA, being two of public net and one of the private net. 400 students had answered to the questionnaire, of both the sex, between 14 and 30 years that had related the habit to use personal stereos. Results: The symptoms most prevalent had been hyperacusis (43.5%), auricular fullness (30.5%) and humming (27.5), being that the humming is the symptom most present in the population youngest. How much to the daily habits: 62.3% frequent use, 57% in raised intensities, 34% in drawn out periods. An inverse relation between exposition time was verified and the band of age (p=0,000) and direct with the prevalence of the humming. Conclusion: Although to admit to have knowledge on the damages that the exposition the sound of high intensity can cause the hearing, the daily habits of the young evidence the inadequate use of the portable stereos characterized by long periods of exposition, raised intensities, frequent use and preference for the insertion phones. The high prevalence of symptoms after the use suggests a bigger risk for the hearing of these young. Keyword: hearing, symptoms, habits. Introdução: Práticos e portáteis os estéreos pessoais se tornaram acessórios quase indispensáveis no dia a dia. Estudos revelam que os tocadores de música portáteis podem causar danos auditivos a longo prazo para quem ouve música em alto volume por um tempo prolongado. Objetivo: verificar a prevalência de sintomas auditivos em usuários de tocadores amplificados e conhecer os seus hábitos de uso Método: Estudo prospectivo observacional de corte transversal realizado em três instituições de ensino da cidade de Salvador- BA, sendo duas de rede pública e uma da rede privada. Responderam ao questionário 400 estudantes, de ambos os sexos, entre 14 e 30 anos que referiram o hábito de utilizar estéreos pessoais. Resultados: Os sintomas mais prevalentes foram hiperacusia (43,5%), plenitude auricular (30,5%) e zumbido (27,5), sendo que o zumbido é o sintoma mais presente na população mais jovem. Quanto aos hábitos diários: 62,3% usam frequentemente, 57% em intensidades elevadas, 34% em períodos prolongados. Verificou-se uma relação inversa entre tempo de exposição e a faixa de idade (p=0,000) e direta com a prevalência do zumbido. Conclusão: Apesar de admitirem ter conhecimento sobre os danos que a exposição a som de alta intensidade pode causar a audição, os hábitos diários dos jovens evidenciam o uso inadequado dos estéreos portáteis caracterizados por longos períodos de exposição, intensidades elevadas, uso frequente e preferência pelos fones de inserção. A alta prevalência de sintomas após o uso sugere um risco maior para a audição desses jovens. Palavras-chave: audição, sintomas, hábitos. Int. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol., São Paulo - Brazil, v.16, n.2, p. 163-169, Apr/May/June - 2012. 163 Hearing symptoms personal stereos. Luz et al. INTRODUCTION The individual devices with earphone had revolutionized the form to hear music. For being practical and portable they had become almost indispensable accessories in the day the day. This modern habit has mobilized the researchers to study the negative impact of the inadequate use of this equipment on the hearing. A recent study it discloses that the portable players of music can cause auditory damages in the long run for who hear music in high volume for a drawn out time (1). The hearing is the one of the main ways for which human being interacts with way, being one them more important directions, moreover, it has a sufficiently complex and primordial function in the communication human being and preservation of the species. It is by means of it that we hear and we identify to all the sounds of the environment. Injuries in the sensorial structures of the hearing provoke damages in the detention, localization and discrimination of the sounds. Another preoccupying aspect is the intensity level with that these equipment is used, allowing that people to a meter of distance listen to the music that this being heard for the user through the phones. Studies had demonstrated that the sound pressure levels of these 120 equipment can reach dB, intensity enough to provoke auditory injury (7, 8, 9). The great number of studies concerning this subject evidences the concern of that the use of these equipment in abusive and incorrect way can cause irreversible damages to the hearing (2,6). In this way, considering the relevance of the subject, the objective of this work was to verify the prevalence of symptoms related for users of players of digital music amplified and to know its habits in relation to the use of these equipments. METHOD Drawing of the study and population The growth of the urbanization and the advance of the technology had favored the rise of the levels of noise in the streets, the work and the leisure, causing damage to the welfare mental physicist and, as well as the hearing of the individuals (2). Authors ratify this affirmation, and add that the noise does not affect only the hearing, but also can produce symptoms as gastrointestinal increase of the arterial pressure, riots, sleeplessness and irritability (3). Currently, the ambient noise has been considered a problem of public health for being part of the majority of the daily activities of the human being (4). The young, in its majority, adolescents, habitually is displayed music amplified of high intensity, especially in its activities of leisure (5). Music, in general, is a pleasant sound that provides pleasant sensation, however, can become a source of sonorous pollution depending on the way and it sound level that is used (4). It is obs (...truncated)