OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize hearing thresholds, the self-perception of hearing, and the presence of auditory and extra-auditory symptoms in members of the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra. CASE REPORT: The study design was observational, descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional. Subjects were evaluated using pure-tone audiometry and a questionnaire pertaining to auditory and extra-auditory symptoms and professional activities. The study population comprised 16 male musicians with ages ranging from 26 to 58 years. Sensorineural hearing loss with an audiometric notch was noted in 31.1% of the musicians surveyed. All musicians presented normal hearing; 8 musicians marked their hearing perception as "very good" or "good." Of the 6 musicians who considered their hearing as fair or poor, 3 presented with hearing loss. There was no significant association between self-reported hearing and pure-tone audiometry results (p = 0.299). The most prevalent auditory symptoms were difficulty in understanding speech in noisy environments (75%) and an intolerance to loud sounds (56.3%). The most prevalent extra-auditory symptoms were stress (43.8%) and irritability (37.5%). CONCLUSION: Some of the 16 musicians evaluated presented with hearing loss; most of them presented with auditory and extra-auditory symptoms. Notably, most of the musicians investigated characterized their auditory skills accurately, despite infrequent audiological testing. This result does not preclude the need to incorporate audiological testing as a routine preventive measure.
