Temporary auditory threshold shift following sophomore operative technique laboratory

Twenty sophomore dental students were studied for the "temporary threshold shift" (TTS) due to exposure to the noise of high-speed dental headpieces during technique laboratory sessions. TTS was experienced at all four frequencies tested--8000, 6000, 4000, and 3000 hertz, but tended to be greater and of longer duration at the higher frequencies. Approximately one-fourth of the students still had some hearing loss 15 minutes after leaving the laboratory.