Evaluating the Vestibular Function in Chronic Noise Exposure Subjects

This chapter aims to evaluate vestibular function in subjects with chronic noise exposure. It is well known that noise can cause vestibular disturbances; Haberman first identified this effect in 1890 in tinkers who had occupational hearing loss. The study included eighty subjects who were divided into 2 groups: 60 subjects exposed to noise in laundry with mean age 41.53±11.15 (study group) and 20 subjects not exposed to noise with mean age 38.60±6.48 (Control group). This study demonstrated elevated hearing threshold at audiometric frequencies 2-8 KHz (pv <0.001) and speech discrimination (pv <0.001). Moreover, there was a favorable link between the length of exposure and the effects on the auditory and vestibular systems. According to this study, noise has an evident impact on the auditory and vestibular systems.