Evaluation of shooting noises on hearing thresholds in soldiers

ntroduction: High level noises can induce many bad effects on people and probably the most significant effect is hearing loss. Most important part of otologic structure that affect is outer hairy cells of cochlea. Soldiers are one of the high risk groups that affect by explosion noises. This study was conducted on soldiers with normal hearing examined before and after gun shooting. Hearing level before and after gun shooting examined in both right and left ears in different frequencies. Hearing threshold evaluated by OAE and PTA methods and data analyzed finally. Hearing thresholds before and after gun shooting in right and left ears were different in ≥4000 HZ frequency but there is no difference in lower frequencies. Differences of hearing thresholds before and after gun shooting measured by OAE were also significant. Loud noise of gun shooting can adversely affect hearing on high frequencies.