title: Auditory assessment of alcoholics in abstinence.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  long-term alcohol abuse can damage the cochlear function, specifically the outer hair cells.
authors.affiliation: Communications Disorders, Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná.
authors.forename: Sandra Beatriz Afonso
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Lilian Cassia Bornia
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Kátia de Freitas
authors.initials: Kde F
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
authors.forename: Jair Mendes
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Rafaela Mocellin
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Campêlo
authors.forename: Samira Natacha
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Tschoeke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013695:Temperance