Improving methods for diagnosing occupational hearing loss

Introduction. Since the share of sensorineural hearing loss in the structure of occupational morbidity in the Russian Federation increased by 1.5 times in 2018 compared to 2007, it is essential to ensure the reliability of the results of diagnostic studies to establish the fact of hearing impairment as a result of occupational noise. Materials and methods. Retrospectively for the period 2008-2017 the analysis of the prevalence and dynamics of occupational hearing loss in the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB) was carried out. Objectification of the state of the auditory sensory analyzer was carried out in 30 patients with occupational hearing loss using tonal threshold audiometry and registration of short-latency auditory evoked potentials. Results. In the RB, the number of occupational diseases caused by exposure to physical factors has doubled, mainly due to occupational hearing loss with a mild course of the process. The obtained indicators of short-latency auditory evoked potentials determined the difference in the latencies of the recorded potentials, amplitudes and intervals in persons with impaired auditory function of professional origin and in a group of persons from the control group who did not have industrial acoustic contact. Conclusion. The increase in the number of patients with occupational hearing loss requires the development of measures for their timely and objective diagnosis and medical care. The method of recording short-latency auditory evoked potentials is sensitive and quite informative in diagnosing hearing loss from exposure to occupational noise.