The Evaluation of Hearing Results in Professional Referees

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common cause of hearing loss in the world and in our country. Today, high levels of sound are reached due to the factors present in the open and closed environments where sports events are held. In addition to these high levels, the referees in these environments are also exposed to whistle sounds that can reach 140 dB. In the literature, there is no study on the hearing levels of referees. In this study, the hearing results of the referees who were professionally refereed and who were exposed to high sound levels were evaluated.

Methods: The study included 50 referees who applied to our hospital between 2016 and 2017 and who had routine hearing evaluations. The control group included 49 volunteers who did not experience any noise exposure and had no previous hearing problems. The otoscopic examination, and pure-tone audiometry of the 2 groups were performed and the results were compared.

Results: At the end, 20 dB and over 4000 Hz frequencies were observed in any ear of 7 of the 50 referees. A statistically significant difference was found in the comparison with healthy individuals.

Conclusion: As a result, it was concluded that the arbitration profession could be a risky profession in terms of hearing loss.

Cite this article as: Celik S, Mehmet Hanege F. The evaluation of hearing results in professional referees. Balkan ORL-HNS 2024;1(1):19-22.