Introduction: Practical and portable the personal stereos if had become almost indispensable accessories in the day the day. Studies disclose that the portable players of music can cause auditory damages in the long run for who hear music in high volume for a drawn out time.
Objective: to verify the prevalence of auditory symptoms in users of amplified players and to know its habits of use
Method: Observational prospective study of transversal cut carried through in three institutions of education of the city of Salvador BA, being two of public net and one of the private net. 400 students had answered to the questionnaire, of both the sex, between 14 and 30 years that had related the habit to use personal stereos.
Results: The symptoms most prevalent had been hyperacusis (43.5%), auricular fullness (30.5%) and humming (27.5), being that the humming is the symptom most present in the population youngest. How much to the daily habits: 62.3% frequent use, 57% in raised intensities, 34% in drawn out periods. An inverse relation between exposition time was verified and the band of age (p = 0,000) and direct with the prevalence of the humming.
Conclusion: Although to admit to have knowledge on the damages that the exposition the sound of high intensity can cause the hearing, the daily habits of the young evidence the inadequate use of the portable stereos characterized by long periods of exposition, raised intensities, frequent use and preference for the insertion phones. The high prevalence of symptoms after the use suggests a bigger risk for the hearing of these young.
