[Development of hearing following damage from acoustic trauma with reference to a subsequent workplace]

60 patients were subjected to follow-up examination approximately one year after they had suffered initial damage due to acute acoustic trauma and received immediate in-patient therapy, in order to determine loss of hearing and development of tinnitus. The result of the study shows that both improvements in hearing and a disappearance of the tinnitus noise can be observed over the year, this being often closely associated with the noise level in the occupation pursued after in-patient treatment. At the same time, instances of progressive deterioration in hearing were also measured, which were virtually independent of the noise level. It is not possible to predict the development of hearing and tinnitus on the basis of the initial damage due to acoustic trauma.