Auditory assessment of alcoholics in abstinence

Alcoholism is considered the most relevant addiction in the international arena and few investigations have examined the association between sensorineural hearing loss and alcohol abuse, with conflicting results. AIM: To analyze the effects of alcohol abuse on the auditory system of alcoholics in abstinence taking into account the duration of alcohol abuse and associated noise exposure. METHOD: our series comprehended 75 individuals, divided into two groups: trial and control. The audiological assessment was made by means of: pure-tone audiometry, transient evoked otoacoustic emissions, tympanometry. The Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests were used in the statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: the groups of patients who had been alcoholics evidenced a statistically significant worse performance in the audiological assessment. The combined exposure to alcohol and noise was not synergic on the auditory system. CONCLUSION: long-term alcohol abuse can damage the cochlear function, specifically the outer hair cells.