Salud auditiva en el estudiante de la carrera de enfermería de la Universidad Técnica de Ambato a causa de la teleeducación

Abstract

Introduction: in the current pandemic, government authorities decided to suspend face-to-face educational activities throughout Ecuador, and virtual classes were introduced, which in many cases forced students to use headphones in order to reduce the noise of the outside environment. Objective: to identify problems that affect the hearing health of fourth and fifth semester nursing students of the Technical University of Ambato due to teleeducation.

Methodology: this is a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study. Information was obtained through a survey of 226 students, which was taken from a research project at the University of Cuenca, and consisted of sociodemographic and sociocultural aspects. The data were processed in SPSS version 22, and finally analysed using tables. Results: 45.1% of students use moderate volume hearing aids; 23.9% correspond to the fifth semester, while 21.2% to the fourth semesters who listen with moderate volume. It was delimited that 37.2% do not present any symptoms, 31.4% present headache, and 15.5% ringing in the ears. It was found that 45.6% of the students receive classes from 2 to 3 hours a day. Conclusion: the study shows a daily habit of using headphones in their virtual classrooms, characterised by long periods of exposure, high intensity and frequent use, which leads to symptoms and hearing problems after use.