Abstract
The objective of this study is to examine if the hearing loss prevention practices in industries located in the greater Curitiba area are meeting legal requirements and scientific recommendations. The study design is a Transversal cohort. A questionnaire prepared by the American National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, in 1996, for auditing hearing loss prevention programs (HLPP) was used as an instrument for data collection. This instrument has 89 questions, divided in eight themes about the following aspects of HLPP programs: training and education, supervisor involvement, noise measurement, engineering and administrative controls, monitoring audiometry, record keeping, referrals, hearing protections devices and administrative aspects. The data was collected through interviews with occupational physicians, engineers and/or safety technicians. The industries were divided in two groups: one composed of industries with HLPPs and another without HLPPs. No significant difference was observed between groups and both meet, in part, the legal requirements for hearing loss prevention. Questions about practices that exceed the legal requirements indicated that industries with HLPPs dedicated greater efforts to hearing loss prevention. Through the data analysis, we could identify the strengths and weaknesses of the HLPP programs in this region of Brazil. This information can lead to the proposal of more effective preventive measures and legislation revisions.
