Biosafety materials in audiological basic assessment: comparative study between the use of disposable earphone protector and the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Abstract

Objective: The study compared the effects of the Disposable Earphone Protector® and the PVC film (Polyvinyl Chloride) on pure-tone and speech auditory thresholds, and the effect of latter material on acoustic reflex thresholds, to verify the possibility of adopting these materials as biosafety action. Method: Participants were 72 normal-hearing subjects with ages between 18 and 40 years, evaluated at a speech-language outpatient clinic of a Federal university. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the materials regarding the acoustic reflex thresholds. On the other hand, the audiometry and SRT (Speech Recognition Threshold) thresholds showed a small difference, however, within the 95% confidence interval. Conclusion: According to the results and the American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association – ASHA recommendation it can be concluded that neither the Disposable Earphone Protector® or the PVC film interfere in the audiological evaluation.