Adaptation of the hearing analyzer under vibration noise exposure in volunteers: Ways of prevention

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The negative effect of impulse noise and vibration when using small arms on the auditory analyzer in athletes is less investigated and justifies the need for an extended study of volunteers with normal hearing. The study of the initial characteristics of the impulse noise and vibration effects of sports weapons on the auditory analyzer will make it possible to determine the early risk factors for the occurrence of high-frequency hearing loss in shooters by the number of shots from sports weapons and the recovery time of auditory function. AIMS: To conduct a comparative analysis of the effect of impulse noise and vibration exposure depending on the technical characteristics of small arms on volunteers with normal hearing and, based on the results obtained, unify the methods of forecasting and prevention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the South Ural State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia, 30 fifth-year students were examined following continuous recruitment of volunteers between September 2022 and November 2022. All interviewed participants gave voluntary written consent to participate in the survey and to the test level of impulse noise. Based on the current regulatory documents, all volunteers were surveyed and underwent audiological and vestibulometric studies, the technical characteristics of noise and vibration exposure as a risk factor for the early development of presbycusis were determined, and ways of preventing hearing loss through lifestyle were proposed. RESULTS: The comparative analysis of the influence of impulse noise and vibration effects showed a dependence on the weight of the small arms cartridge, number of shots, and adaptation time of the auditory analyzer in volunteers with normal hearing considering the changes in the high-frequency spectrum of increasing audiometry thresholds from the average value of indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The use of active explanatory propaganda among young people on a careful attitude to the physiological state of the cochleovestibular apparatus avoids the risk of early presbycusis development.