Efeitos do ruído nos Militares da Armada

Abstract

Objective : To determine the prevalence of hearing loss in Navy personnel that was reveled between June of 2005 and June of 2006 at the Navy Disability Evaluation Council, categorizing these cases in accordance with: the causes of hearing loss, the year of enlistment in the Navy, the presence on expeditions in the Portuguese African war, the rate, the category, the rank and the degree of disability due to the hearing loss. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed. Data was collected from the records of the Navy Disability Eval- uation Council and from the records of Otolaryngology consul- tation carried out at the Portuguese Navy Hospital. Results: Hearing loss prevalence is 24%, this sample is com- posed mostly of individuals with noise induced hearing loss, enlisted in the Navy between 1965 and 1970, who were present in the Portuguese African war, of the rank of sergeant, category of retired, rank of marine and a degree of incapacity of hearing loss located between 11% and 20% and between 31% and 40%. Conclusions: Hearing loss has a high prevalence in naval mili- tary environment, particularly in individuals exposed to noise from firearms, subject to intense training and I or situations of combat and in the absence of hearing protection. This condition causes significant morbidity, which reduces military readiness and increases spending on rehabilitation and compensation for hearing disability.