OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO NOISE BY PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

摘要

The main objective of the study focuses on the analysis of the noise levels to which physical education teachers are exposed to during their school activities, the evaluation of its impact on their hearing abilities, as well as the analysis of their legislative conformity. The results show that the measured noise levels in the gym are very close to the limit values of exposure in Portuguese legislation. The audiometric studies suggest statically significant medium hearing losses in both 4000Hz and 8000Hz frequencies. The study leads to the conclusion that the physical education teachers are more exposed to harmful noises the more classes are taught simultaneously in the gym, the more hours they spend daily inside the gym as well as the more years of service they have.