A study of the high-frequency hearing thresholds of dentistry professionals

Abstract

Summary Introduction: In the dentistry practice, dentists are exposed to harmful effects caused by several factors, such as the noise produced by their work instruments. In 1959, the American Dental Association recommended periodical hearing assessments and the use of ear protectors. Aquiring more information regarding dentists', dental nurses', and prosthodontists' hearing abilities is necessary to propose prevention measures and early treatment strategies. Objective: To investigate the auditory thresholds of dentists, dental nurses, and prosthodontists. Method: In this clinical and experimental study, 44 dentists (Group I; GI), 36 dental nurses (Group II; GII), and 28 prosthodontists (Group III; GIII) were included, , with a total of 108 professionals. The procedures that were performed included a specific interview, ear canal inspection, conventional and high-frequency threshold audiometry, a speech reception threshold test, and an acoustic impedance test. Results: In the 3 groups that were tested, the comparison between the mean hearing thresholds provided evidence of worsened hearing ability relative to the increase in frequency. For the tritonal mean at 500 to 2,000 Hz and 3,000 to 6,000 Hz, GIII presented the worst thresholds. For the mean of the high frequencies (9,000 and 16,000 Hz), GII presented the worst thresholds. Conclusion: The conventional hearing threshold evaluation did not demonstrate alterations in the 3 groups that were tested; however, the complementary tests such as high-frequency audiometry provided greater efficacy in the early detection of hearing problems, since this population's hearing loss impaired hearing ability at frequencies that are not tested by the conventional tests. Therefore, we emphasize the need of utilizing high-frequency threshold audiometry in the hearing assessment routine in combination with other audiological tests.

Noise Disturbance and Potential Hearing Loss Due to Exposure of Dental Equipment in Flemish Dentists

“…In our study, the profession of dentist does not seem to induce a higher incidence of NIHL than controls. Our data are in line with previous reports [15,[26][27][28]31], while others reported contrary results [11,13,14,[23][24][25]46,47]. Since both older cohorts had been working for more than 20 years on average and show similar incidence of HL, our study cannot confirm that duration of exposure significantly affects hearing in dentistry, as was reported by Gurbuz, who found a significant correlation between the total working duration (years × days × hours) and the level of HL at all frequencies [11].…”

“…A recent PNAS study employing both high-frequency audiometry and digits in noise (with low-pass filtering of the noise to detect high-frequency HL) showed that sound energy above 8 kHz contributes to speech perception in noise and that extended high-frequency loss predicts self-reported difficulty hearing speech [51]. The importance of measuring high-frequency thresholds for the early diagnosis of NIHL has been raised before [24,52].…”

“…While the exposure levels of contemporary dental equipment may have become less hazardous in time, occupational HL remains a matter of debate. Some studies have reported poorer hearing thresholds for dental professionals compared to controls [11,13,14,[23][24][25], while others report similar hearing thresholds [15,[26][27][28]. Audiometric patterns generally reflect a mild hearing impairment between 2 and 6 kHz, but by no means with all dental professionals (e.g., [14]).…”

“…However, across studies, data regarding dental equipment, often linked to the specialism, are not consistent. For instance, it has been reported that prosthodontists have the poorest hearing thresholds at the mean frequencies of 500-2000 Hz and 3000-6000 Hz when compared to dentists and dental nurses [24], while higher noise levels have also been reported for pediatric dentistry [16,18], even up to 112.9 dBA when children were crying during treatments [21]. Since prosthodontists are also general practitioners and therefore use handpieces and suction devices, most of the reported differences may not be due to the specialism itself but possibly due to a combination of other factors (including age and length of service).…”

Study of the Hearing Threshold of Dance Teachers

“…There has been an increase in early diagnosis of hearing loss. 4 The most commonly used test for the evaluation of adult hearing is the pure tone audiometry (PTA). However, other methods that identify hearing issues before they can be perceived in PTA can be used to analyze the hearing of subjects exposed to high levels of sound pressure.…”