Study design: Prospective randomized. Material and method: The author performed audiometric evaluation in 61 employees of Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual "Francisco Morato de Oliveira", exposed to routine noise in their working environment. The following areas were chosen: Clinical laboratory, Carpentry, Mechanical Work, Lock-smith work and Telephony. Results: The results were compared to the ones obtained through audiometric evaluations in a control group of 30 individuals, used to the same environment, but not exposed to the customary machinery noise. This is a preliminary study on which further exams will be based. Conclusion: By the parameters that we were able to establish, we verified hearing losses above the expected rate, in all sound frequencies, in the age bracket analyzed.
pure tone audiometry; hearing loss; work in health sector; environmental noises
