Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the health complaints and the audiological findings of 2 groups of workers. Clinical prospective randomized. Group 1 was exposed to high sound pressure levels and vibration transmitted by hands and arms through the use of power brush cutter/string trimmers. Group 2 was exposed to high sound pressure levels and wholebody vibration transmitted by heavy machinery such as vibrating compactor rollers, skid-steer loaders, backhoes and compact hydraulic excavators. The 73 participants underwent an interview, otoscopy, and pure-tone audiometry. Regarding general health, group 2 workers, exposed to whole-body vibration presented the highest number of complaints. All the participants from group 1 use hearing protectors and 11% of them complained about tinnitus. Not all workers from group 2 use hearing protectors and 17% of them 2 reported tinnitus. However, group 1 workers, exposed to hand-arm vibration was the group with the highest percentage of abnormal audiograms. This study revealed a series of weaknesses in the health surveillance of these populations and indicated the need for the implementation of preventive programs focusing on their exposures to noise and vibration. This article is published in Portuguese.
