A female recruit came in with the problems with hearing in noise, occasional tinnitus, and dizziness due to loud noise. She thinks she has a hearing loss but not a significant one. History consists of working in loud enviroments (i.e. bars, restaurants) and attending concerts frequently.
Otoscopy revealed normal, intact tympanic membranes and clear ear canals. Normal, type A, tympanograms were measured bilaterally. Audiometric findings were within normal limits. Speech audiometry revealed normal speech recognition thresholds and speech discrimination. A vestibular evaluation was not attempted at this time due to time restrictions. She was encouraged to return for further testing.
Since she had normal hearing, I thought that I would find an article that would pertain to the client but not currently. She has been a smoker for several years. This article discusses the increase risk of hearing loss due to smoking. The study showed that long-term smokers have a
higher risk of hearing loss at 3 and 4 kHz after noise exposure. Just one more reason to quit...
Wild, D.C., Brewster, M.J., & Banerjee, A.R. (2005) Noise-induced hearing loss is exacerbated by long-term smoking. Clinical Otolaryngology, 30, 517–520
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=104&sid=ce350299-0b60-4375-9fa4-f659dc06f0af%40sessionmgr104
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