Development and Validation of a Novel Questionnaire to Assess Auditory Function Quality in Dental Professionals...

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Audiology
• Dental Science

Background:

• Dental professionals face high-frequency noise from instruments, risking hearing damage.
• No validated self-assessment tool currently exists for this occupational group.
• Early auditory deterioration is a significant concern in dentistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a novel questionnaire for assessing auditory function quality in noise-exposed dental professionals.
• To create a reliable screening tool for hearing difficulties in the dental field.
• To aid in the early detection of occupational hearing loss.

Main Methods:

• A 10-item questionnaire was developed by dental and otolaryngology experts.
• Validated through psychometric analysis including internal consistency and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).
• Distributed online to 362 dentists and dental hygienists in Italy.

Main Results:

• The final questionnaire has 10 yes/no items across three factors: Auditory difficulties, Clinical signs and symptoms, and Risk exposure habits.
• A scoring system (1-10) estimates hearing deterioration severity.
• Women reported more hearing issues than men; age showed no significant correlation with auditory difficulties.

Conclusions:

• A brief, reliable, and clinically useful self-assessment tool for auditory deterioration in dental professionals has been validated.
• The questionnaire is suitable for early screening in occupational health programs.
• This tool addresses a critical need for monitoring hearing health in the dental workforce.