Auditory Clinical Profile of Nightclub Employees in the City of Parakou in 2021

Abstract

Introduction: Hearing impairments are common among nightclub workers. The present work aims to study the hearing clinical profile of these employees in the city of Parakou in 2021. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study from March 14 to June 15, 2021. It focused on employees of 13 nightclubs in the city of Parakou. Were included in the study, employees with at least 03 months of practice and aged at least 18 to 50 years at most on the date of the survey and who had given their informed consent to participate in the study. Each employee received a questionnaire, an otoscopy and an acoumetry in tune. Noise pollution was measured at each workstation using a sound level meter. Results: A total of 114 employees were collected. The mean age was 26.38 years ± 4.81 and the sex ratio 0.87. The server position was occupied by 65 employees (57%) followed by managers, 19 or 16.70%- and 17-disc jockeys, 14.90%. Among the employees 31.60% exercised between 03 and 09 months. 76.32% were exposed to noise for more than 8 hours per day and 81.58% were exposed to noise for more than 40 hours per week. The sound level at the workstation was for 59 employees (51.75%) between 90 and 100 dB. Tinnitus was the most expressed complaint, respectively 21 (18.40%) on the right and 22 (19.30%) on the left. Rinne’s test was positive in 85.10% of employees. Weber’s test was indifferent to all frequencies in the majority of respondents. Conclusion: Hearing damage among nightclub employees in the city of Parakou is a reality. It is important to put preventive measures in place.