HEARING LOSS IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH : INTEGRATIVE

Objective: to analyze the national scientific literature about hearing loss in occupational health. Method: integrative review, from 2009 to 2013, in order to answer the question << What generates and characterize the hearing loss in workers? >>. The consulted databases were: LILACS, BDENF and SciELO library, and using the following key words in Portuguese perda auditiva (hearing loss) and saúde do trabalhador (occupational health). The results are presented by descriptive statistics, and, then, analyzed and discussed with the literature. Results: 17 articles were identified, describing that the personal protective equipment, the age, the exposure time, the profession, the noise with a dB level and other factors influence on losing the hearing and provoke some annoyance in occupational health. The tinnitus is one of the symptoms related to hearing loss. Conclusion: it is important to evaluate the risks the professional are exposed to, by the employer, as well as to provide the proper protection. Descriptors: Hearing Loss; Occupational Health; Nursing. RESUMO Objetivo: investigar a produção científica nacional sobre a perda auditiva na saúde do trabalhador. Método: revisão integrativa, de 2009 a 2013, a fim de responder a questão << O que gera e caracteriza a perda auditiva nos trabalhadores? >>. As bases de dados consultadas foram LILACS, BDENF e biblioteca SciELO, utilizando os descritores em português perda auditiva e saúde do trabalhador. Os resultados são apresentados a partir da estatística descritiva, analisados e discutidos com a literatura. Resultados: foram identificados 17 artigos, encontrando que o equipamento de proteção individual, a idade, o tempo de exposição, a profissão, o ruído com o nível de dB e outros agentes, influenciam no surgimento da perda auditiva e provoca certos incômodos na saúde do trabalhador. O zumbido está entre os sintomas que caracterizam a perda auditiva. Conclusão: é importante existir uma avaliação dos riscos a que os profissionais estão expostos, além do ruído, por parte do empregador, assim como o fornecimento de proteção adequada. Descritores: Perda Auditiva; Saúde do Trabalhador; Enfermagem. RESUMEN Objetivo: investigar la producción científica nacional acerca de la pérdida auditiva en la salud de los trabajadores. Método: una revisión integradora, 2009-2013, con el fin de responder a la pregunta << ¿Lo que genera y qué es la pérdida auditiva en los trabajadores? >>. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron LILACS, BDENF y la biblioteca SciELO, usando las palabras clave, en portugués, pérdida auditiva y salud de los trabajadores. Los resultados se presentan como la estadística descriptiva, analizados y discutidos en la literatura. Resultados: se identificaron 17 artículos, encontrando que el equipo de protección personal, la edad, el tiempo de exposición, la profesión, el ruido con el nivel de dB y otros agentes influyen en la aparición de la pérdida de la audición y provoca ciertas molestias en la salud trabajador. El tinnitus es uno de los síntomas que caracterizan la pérdida auditiva. Conclusión: es importante contar con una evaluación de los riesgos a los que los profesionales están expuestos, además del ruido, por el empleador, así como proporcionar una protección adecuada. Descriptores: Pérdida Auditiva; Salud Laboral; Enfermería. Nurse, Expert in Work’s Nursing (graduated), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN. Natal-RN, Brazil. E-mail: enferdada@hotmail.com; Nurse, PhD Professor in Nursing, Nursing Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN. Natal (RN), Brazil. E-mail: sorayamaria_ufrn@hotmail.com; Nurse, Expert in Work’s Nursing (graduated), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN. Natal-RN, Brazil. E-mail: naianny-marlisse@hotmail.com; Nurse, Expert in Work’s Nursing (graduated), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN. Natal-RN, Brazil. E-mail: lilian_lilian_lilian@hotmail.com INTEGRATIVE REVIEW ARTICLE Ferreira DKS, Medeiros SM de, Carvalho IM de et al. Hearing loss in occupational health... English/Portuguese J Nurs UFPE on line., Recife, 10(6):2206-13, June., 2016 2207 ISSN: 1981-8963 DOI: 10.5205/reuol.9199-80250-1-SM1006201636 Health, covered by Article n. 196 of the Federal Constitution, and regulated by the second article of the Health’s Organic Statute, is defined as a common right and duty of the State, acquired by the Brazilian citizen. In this right, the occupational health is included.1 The Occupational Health compounds an area of the Public Health which includes the relationship between work and health as an element of study and intervention. Acting for promoting and protecting the worker’s health, by developing actions for observing the risks present in the work environment and working conditions, health problems of workers and the organization and provision of assistance to them, involve procedures of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation in an integrated manner, in the Unified Health System.2 The exposure to poor working conditions intensifies the possibilities of getting ill. Once health is associated with the real possibility of self-care and enjoying life, it is not difficult to understand that poor working conditions and problems in interpersonal relationships contribute to worsen the health of professionals.3 The exposure to noise, for the frequency and its many effects on the human body, is responsible for one of the main problems of occupational and environmental health nowadays. The Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is one of the most common problems of the occupational health worldwide. It is defined as the loss generated by long-term exposure to noise; it is a sensorineural hearing loss type, usually bilateral, irreversible and progressive with the noise exposure time.12 According to the average of the hearing thresholds measured for frequencies of 100, 2.000 and 3.000 Hz in workers from the United States, 17% of the individuals working in the industrial sector of the country have, at least, some mild hearing damage. In Italy, for about 10 years, NIHL has been the most registered occupational disease, representing 53.7% of diseases related to work. On the other hand, studies show that the extra-auditory effects of noise exposure need special attention from health professionals, due to the broad spectrum of the observed repercussions.2 When analyzing hearing loss related to work, it is necessary to assess the existence of other factors that may not specifically cause hearing loss, but may also enhance the effects of noise on hearing, such as exposure to certain chemicals, vibrations and the use of some medications. Therefore, it is important to consider not only the noise the most common agent but also others, along with all the effects they possibly originate in terms of diagnosis, preventive measures, safety limits, legislation, and etc.1 Thus, nowadays, people are exposed to noises wherever they are, all over the world, causing them to lose their hearing, in addition to other factors. In this context, this study analyzed the scientific literature about hearing loss in occupational health, with the objective of discussing the factors that cause it. ● To analyze the national scientific literature about hearing loss in occupational health. This paper was presented as a requirement for the Course Conclusion Work << The hearing loss in occupational health: an integrative review >> for the Post-Graduate Course in Occupational Health Nursing, Metropolitan College of Science and Technology. Parnamirim-RN, Brazil, 2014. It is a review study, with an integrative review as a means of research, which is a method that enables the synthesis of knowledge and integration of applicability of significant results, being the widest method to approach revisions, providing inclusion of experimental and non-experimental studies in order to completely describe the analyzed phenomenon. This type of review has six stages for its development: the elaboration of the guiding question, stating the participants, the interventions and the actual results; the search or sampling in the literature, which is the research in databases based on inclusion and exclusion criteria; data collecting, which intends to extract information from the selected articles from a pre-set instrument; critical analysis of the included studies, which assesses the quality and characteristics of each study included in the work; the discussion of the results, in which a comparison of the collected is performed; and the presentation of the integrative review, which is the final stage that discloses the relevant and detailed information, based on contextualized methodologies. Considering this issue, following question emerged: what generates and characterizes the hearing loss in workers? Therefore, for conducting this study, the following inclusion criteria were determined: complete, original and available articles; published in INTRODUCTION